Altera Terra Wood's Paddock Shiraz 2021
Do you remember Paradise IV wines?
For a beautiful few years we had the benefit of the wines under that label, made by Doug Neal off a patch of land in the Moonambel valley (Geelong). The annual release became one of the most keenly anticipated of any we ever did, and that was off a standing start only a decade before. The wines - chardonnay, shiraz, cab shiraz blend were equally sought after but it was perhaps the Shiraz or Dardel as it was known, that became the most celebrated by critic and punter alike.
Unfortunately, the owners of the vineyard one day decided to grub the entire plot! Yep, strange but true. I guess the wine trade effects people in different ways! Of course, with that came the abrupt end to the Paradise IV label. Theoretically, the label could've picked up and found a new fruit source but the terroir was so important to the style and timbre of the wines that Neal knew that wouldn't have worked and effectively would've cheapened the legacy of the label. So, Paradise IV became no more.
The next chapter for Neal has seen him wandering the vinous landscape, consulting here and there but all the while with a side eye out for the next site that might capture him the way the Paradise IV vineyard did. He started a new label, Altera Terra, which has released wines over the last few years with blended Shiraz' made from Canberra and or McLaren Vale and they're excellent.
But, it was last year he called and asked me to come over to his new home at Hesket Estate in the Macedon Ranges (excellent wines by the way) to taste a new shiraz he'd made from a small plot in Avoca. He was pretty excited so I thought it might be worth a look and, worth a look it was! It was one of the best wines I'd tasted from barrel for a long, long time. I'll come back to that but I thought it might be worth letting Doug tell the next part of the Wood's Paddock story.
It has taken 5 years since the demise of Paradise IV for me to present the first wine that I can say is at the very least, the equal of Dardel shiraz. With three vintages of Wood’s Paddock shiraz now complete, it has become apparent that this stand-alone site east of the township of Avoca is a jewel, hidden in the sun for too long...
In 2020 I was introduced to Rod Lees, who along with his sister, owns Wood’s Paddock Vineyard, just east of Avoca, Pyrenees, Victoria. I quickly realised that this site had the potential to be another Paradise IV like venture...It is a cooler site, ripening much later than many other vineyards in the Pyrenees, and has a low disease pressure. It is hungry land; the soil a combination of red sandstone and clay shot through with quartz. The truly continental climate, rocky soils and slower ripening conditions creates wines with a superior tannic structure, greater depth whilst retaining a nimble and fragrant presence. These factors make this an exceptional site for savoury shiraz.
Back to the wine in barrel that day. Lovely depth in the aromas toying with soaring florals and dark cooked spices drifting over mostly plum fruits. Some savoury olive, some judicious vanillin. All this leads to a beautifully weighted wine in the mouth; dark fruits a feature, slippery svelte texture and a deep seated mineral rock backbeat. I love the oak here as it sits both within the wine providing flavour but also gives the wine shape and direction. This is top-shelf Aussie shiraz in any company.
I finished my note with, "must follow this into bottle". I did, and the wine is as it was in barrel. Obviously more complete but all those original notes are still valid but I would add, that is this wine was one of the best wines I saw out of barrel in 2022, then the bottled wine is one of the best I've seen so far in 2023. Self-assured and at the high point of what's happening in Shiraz in this country right now. I can understand why Doug had been so excited that day. After a long search, he'd found another another one. You shouldn't miss it.
For a beautiful few years we had the benefit of the wines under that label, made by Doug Neal off a patch of land in the Moonambel valley (Geelong). The annual release became one of the most keenly anticipated of any we ever did, and that was off a standing start only a decade before. The wines - chardonnay, shiraz, cab shiraz blend were equally sought after but it was perhaps the Shiraz or Dardel as it was known, that became the most celebrated by critic and punter alike.
Unfortunately, the owners of the vineyard one day decided to grub the entire plot! Yep, strange but true. I guess the wine trade effects people in different ways! Of course, with that came the abrupt end to the Paradise IV label. Theoretically, the label could've picked up and found a new fruit source but the terroir was so important to the style and timbre of the wines that Neal knew that wouldn't have worked and effectively would've cheapened the legacy of the label. So, Paradise IV became no more.
The next chapter for Neal has seen him wandering the vinous landscape, consulting here and there but all the while with a side eye out for the next site that might capture him the way the Paradise IV vineyard did. He started a new label, Altera Terra, which has released wines over the last few years with blended Shiraz' made from Canberra and or McLaren Vale and they're excellent.
But, it was last year he called and asked me to come over to his new home at Hesket Estate in the Macedon Ranges (excellent wines by the way) to taste a new shiraz he'd made from a small plot in Avoca. He was pretty excited so I thought it might be worth a look and, worth a look it was! It was one of the best wines I'd tasted from barrel for a long, long time. I'll come back to that but I thought it might be worth letting Doug tell the next part of the Wood's Paddock story.
It has taken 5 years since the demise of Paradise IV for me to present the first wine that I can say is at the very least, the equal of Dardel shiraz. With three vintages of Wood’s Paddock shiraz now complete, it has become apparent that this stand-alone site east of the township of Avoca is a jewel, hidden in the sun for too long...
In 2020 I was introduced to Rod Lees, who along with his sister, owns Wood’s Paddock Vineyard, just east of Avoca, Pyrenees, Victoria. I quickly realised that this site had the potential to be another Paradise IV like venture...It is a cooler site, ripening much later than many other vineyards in the Pyrenees, and has a low disease pressure. It is hungry land; the soil a combination of red sandstone and clay shot through with quartz. The truly continental climate, rocky soils and slower ripening conditions creates wines with a superior tannic structure, greater depth whilst retaining a nimble and fragrant presence. These factors make this an exceptional site for savoury shiraz.
Back to the wine in barrel that day. Lovely depth in the aromas toying with soaring florals and dark cooked spices drifting over mostly plum fruits. Some savoury olive, some judicious vanillin. All this leads to a beautifully weighted wine in the mouth; dark fruits a feature, slippery svelte texture and a deep seated mineral rock backbeat. I love the oak here as it sits both within the wine providing flavour but also gives the wine shape and direction. This is top-shelf Aussie shiraz in any company.
I finished my note with, "must follow this into bottle". I did, and the wine is as it was in barrel. Obviously more complete but all those original notes are still valid but I would add, that is this wine was one of the best wines I saw out of barrel in 2022, then the bottled wine is one of the best I've seen so far in 2023. Self-assured and at the high point of what's happening in Shiraz in this country right now. I can understand why Doug had been so excited that day. After a long search, he'd found another another one. You shouldn't miss it.