Mirus 'Block 18' Hill Top Grenache 2023

$65.00

Deeper crimson in colour than the Block 16, with mulberry, ripe cherry aromatics. The palate is textural, fine powdery in character with sweet concentrated, lifted fruit notes and underlying wild herbs and exotic spice. Fine, fresh and lingering (almost never ending) savoury notes on the finish. Drinking beautifully now but has the potential to cellar until 2030, possibly longer.

Deeper crimson in colour than the Block 16, with mulberry, ripe cherry aromatics. The palate is textural, fine powdery in character with sweet concentrated, lifted fruit notes and underlying wild herbs and exotic spice. Fine, fresh and lingering (almost never ending) savoury notes on the finish. Drinking beautifully now but has the potential to cellar until 2030, possibly longer.

95 POINTS Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate, June 2025

95 POINTS Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion, August 2025

92 POINTS Andrew Caillard MW & Andrea Pritzker MW, The Vintage Journal, August 2025

Winemaking

Excited about what we tasted on in the vineyard pre-harvest, we decided to hand pick 3.5 tonnes from Block 18 for Vintage 2023. The grapes were 100% de-stemmed with whole berry fermentation taking place in 2 small open top tanks using indigenous yeast. Post press, maturation occurred in 50% older French oak puncheons and 50% stainless steel tank for 10 months. After fermentation, It was determined that using a combination of seasoned French oak and stainless steel would add complexity, balancing the ripe lifted notes of this wine. The desire was not to add oak character but allow the wine to soften in the oak while still preserving freshness and vibrancy of the fruit through retention in stainless steel, thus enhancing the wines ripe lifted character and fresh red berry fruits. No fining or filtration and minimal sulphur added post secondary (malolactic) fermentation and before bottling, to preserve purity of fruit.

Vineyard Notes

Ample spring rainfall set the vines up for the 2023 growing season. Pruning occurred in August and is tailored to each blocks potential, generally 12 - 14 spurs per vine evenly spaced along 2 permanent arms. Shoot thinning occurred in early November to help restrict yield and creating an open canopy for even sunlight exposure. A very mild summer pushed veraison back 4 weeks to the beginning of February. Being on the western ridge with our drier, windier conditions, meant harvest still fell before easter, the long, cool ripening conditions helped build flavour while retaining elegance.