The Story R. Lane Vintners Westgate Vineyards Syrah 2019

The Westgate Vineyard, in the hills south of the town of Great Western in the Grampians, has been consistently and unquestionably the highest quality grape source for the Story Wines over the now 15 years I have made wine from the region. In 201 the vines yielded a meagre tonne and a bit per acre, very similar to the lauded 2014 version of this wine. Again I split the harvest into 3 batches, some destemmed, some with a small percentage of whole bunches and then a smaller amount fermented as all whole bunches. All were fermented with ambient yeasts. From these three ferments I had ample elements with which to make a final cuvee. The batches were individually matured for twelve months in barrel (a mixture of French puncheons and barriques) before a final ‘best barrels’ selection was blended and held in tank for a further four months. In 201 it comprised 60% whole bunches, and approximately 20% new oak. It was then bottled with no fining or filtration.