Since 1973, the chase to make the perfect wine has been fundamental to creating 44 remarkable vintages of Black Label. Built on complex, multilayered flavour and magnificent structure, Black Label is a powerful expression of the Wolf Blass philosophy of synergistic blending.
The philosophy behind Black Label is simple: to take the year’s very best wines and weave them together into a synergistic whole, the resultant wine being greater than the sum of its parts. It’s about creating a wine with many layers of flavour in a complex composition of intense fruit characters, magnificent structure, a rich lustrous texture, long velvety tannins and a lingering palate.
Harvested at optimum maturity and flavour, fruit from each vineyard was crushed, destemmed and fermented separately for seven to twelve days on skins. The ferments were allowed to warm naturally, with plunging and gentle pumping over used to maximise colour and flavour extraction. Mid-ferment cooling extended fermentation, exploiting time on skins and accentuating line and length. Some batches stayed on skins to dryness, while others completed fermentation in barrel, allowing a balanced integration of oak characters and enhancing texture and complexity.
Varietal | Cabernet Shiraz Malbec |
---|---|
Vintage | 2017 |
Country | Australia |
Region | Multi-Region Blend |
Volume | 750 mL |
Closure | Screw Cap |
Alc/Vol | 14.5% |
Peak Drinking | Now - 2040 |
Winemaker | Steven Frost |
95 Points | Jane Faulkner (James Halliday Wine Companion) |
"51% cabernet sauvignon, 44% shiraz and 5% malbec for good measure. Dark red, deep purple hue; it's big, ripe and concentrated in a Wolf Blass way yet not so humongous that it can't be appreciated. The tannins are plush and appealing with ingrained savouriness among the fruit and spice. It holds its own." - Jane Faulkner
A lifted nose of blackberry, blackcurrant and dark plum is layeredwith bittersweet chocolate, roastedcoffee beans and hints of tobacco.Toasted nut characters derived frombarrel fermentation and maturation. add attractive complexity.
The palate is generous and beautifully balanced, with dark berry fruit andsavoury secondary flavours of coffee and cedary oak. At once rich and elegant, with a persistence of flavour, seamless texture and long, smooth, chocolatey tannins typical of the characteristic Black Label style that overrides regional and varietal influences.
Home to the oldest vines in the country, and no less than 18 wine growing regions, South Australia accounts for almost 50% of Australia’s wine production. The Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek and Coonawarra are well known for their world class reds, with Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley and Eden Valley praised for their exceptional Chardonnay and Riesling.
Vintage Conditions
Vine growth was slow yet healthy, after a long, wet winter, one of the wettest Septembers on record, and a cool spring and early summer. Post-veraison was moderate, with short bursts of heat and well-timed rain. An Indian summer allowed for consistent ripening, with cool late-March nights extending vintage. Wines are well-structured, bright and aromatic, with good colour and natural acidity
Steve grew up in his family's restaurant business in the Yarra Valley where, at an early age, his interest in food and wine was cultivated.
Though it wasn't his first career, growing and making wine was always Steve's passion, with most weekends spent working part-time in vineyards and making wines with friends.
Steve started working in the wine industry full-time in 1999, the same year he started a Bachelor of Applied Science (Wine Science) at Charles Sturt University. Drawn to work in the Barossa in 2005, he's been making Wolf Blass reds since 2008. The winery's expansive vineyard resources, modern and traditional winemaking techniques, and careful approach to blending proved just as irresistible then as they do now.