Cuvar
Iris Syrah 2023 750ml

We are lucky at Čuvar to have arguably one of the best red wine vineyards on the Gimblett Gravels, which meant that the Syrah weathered the early cyclone and continued to ripen to produce fruit with depth of flavours and ripe tannins – the perfect palette to create this wine.

Cornerstone vineyard is planted in the famous Gimblett Gravels appellation. The canopy was kept open to ensure airflow around the bunches which kept them clean and open to sunlight. This meant that the fruit was picked at the exact time we needed to make the wine, rather than be dictated by the weather.

We were spoilt for choice with Syrah fruit in 2023 and this enabled us to ferment in several different batches. A batch picked later in the season was 100% natural ferment, gentle hand plunging and pressed off with the least intervention possible. Another batch was fermented with a specific yeast from Rhone. All wines were drained and carefully pressed off in to both 15% new and 85% seasoned 225L and 300L barrels to extract different levels of oak where they matured for over 18 months before racking and blending. No fining was added to this wine – it was just right.