Vintage
2023
ABV
14%
Wine Type
Red Blend
Wine Style
Still
Wine Description
The aristocratic blend of luxury, curiosity and whimsy.
At the end of our old vine garden path there is a historic Menagerie of three grape varieties, adjoining blocks of Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro at Gomersal in the Barossa. After hand-picking selected bunches of our Menagerie field blend in mid March our winemaker Elena Brooks let the whole bunches ferment together in open top fermenters with ambient or other people's yeasts. The wine was hand plunged for 14 days, before basket pressing into old French Oak barriques, to then mature for a further 12 months in the same oak, before bottling without fining or filtration to capture the essence of our vinous Menagerie of the Barossa.
Winemaker's Bio
Elena Brooks, Founder and Chief Winemaker.
Elena Brooks left her native Bulgaria to study oenology in Australia where she earned a Bachelor of Science in oenology from the University of Australia. Though Australia remains her adopted viticultural home, she has crafted wines in Spain, Italy and Bulgaria. Highly skilled and experienced, Elena has a long list of accolades including being part of the team that crafted Geoff Merrill Reserve Shiraz 2004, which in 2005 earned Australia's highest winemaking award: the coveted Jimmy Watson Memorial. Recently, in 2020, Dandelion Vineyard has been awarded New World Producer of the Year at the prestigious Sommelier Wine Awards, UK.
