Tech stuff

How's it taste?

The wine has a bright red and purple hue with depth and intensity. While overflowing with aromas of blood plum, raspberry and blackberries, it balances perfectly with liquorice, oak spice and a hint of vanilla sweetness. The palate mirrors the aromas, with bright fruit flavours of raspberry and blackberry complemented with vanilla sweetness. The rolling dark chocolate tannins and subtle oak spice carry through the entire length of the palate, finishing with a long lingering spice and subtle vanilla sweetness. Although drinking well on release, the 2016 Miamba will continue to evolve with careful cellaring for seven to 15 years.

How was it made?

The fruit for this wine is sourced from Miamba vineyard, located at the southern end of the Barossa, near the town of Lyndoch. The Miamba vineyard has a long viticultural history. When Grant Burge purchased the property in 1983, it was completely bare. Careful planting and sustainable practices have returned this block to its former glory. The 2016 vintage in the Barossa commenced with a generally cool winter with lower than average rainfall, which continued into spring, as well as warmer than average temperatures through November, December and January. Late January rain combined with a mild February and March allowed for a smooth harvest and good flavour development. The 2016 vintage will be regarded as a very good to exceptional year for reds in the Barossa. 

After crushing and de-stemming, the fruit was fermented in a combination of open and static fermenters and pumped over three times per day for six to 10 days to achieve optimal flavour and structure. Several batches of the Shiraz were pressed directly into new French and European oak hogsheads and allowed to complete primary and secondary fermentation in oak. These components remained in oak for eight months prior to blending with the unoaked components. The entire blend was then transferred back into oak where it matured for a further nine months.

Who made it?

Family owned and drawing on five generations of history in the famed Barossa Valley, Grant Burge wines is a bastion of well made, value for money wines. Drawing on depth of experience in the region, Grant Burge and his wife Helen established the brand in 1988 and have developed a formidable range of wines across a broad spectrum of price points. The history of the Burge family and their long association with winemaking in the region can be traced back to March 1855, when noted tailor John Burge immigrated to the Barossa from Hillcot, near Pewsey in Wiltshire, England with his wife Eliza and their two sons. John worked as a winemaker at Hillside Vineyards and his love of viticulture was passed onto his son Meshach, who continued the tradition making his first wine in 1865, while becoming a prominent community leader. Meshach married Emma in 1883 and they had eight children. First-born Percival established the Wilsford Winery near Lyndoch in 1928. Percival had two sons, Noel and Colin, and Colin and his wife Nancy had one son, Grant. Following in the footsteps of his father and forefathers before him, Grant carried the winemaking tradition into the 21st century. Grant Burge Wines came under the ownership of the Accolade Wines' family of brands in 2015. Since then, the winery has flourished both nationally and internationally.