Willow Bridge Estate
Willow Bridge Estate is family owned and operated by principal s Jeff and Vicki Dewar, who bought the picturesque 180-hectare hillside property in 1996 after an exhaustive search of the state for the ideal vineyard site from which to realize their shared vision of producing world class wines which are both opulent and accessible.
The estate is located in a hidden jewel of an area known as the Ferguson Valley which, at that time, was home to only a few small vineyards. Immediately planting 60 hectares of vines and then building a state of the art winery (the first winery in the area) in time for their first vintage in 2000, established Willow Bridge as the pioneering estate of the area and demonstrated the family's confidence in the property and resolve to see their vision become reality.
From the release of their very first wines, their efforts were quickly rewarded with critical acclaim, wine show success and most importantly, glowing feedback from wine lovers.
Willow Bridge Dragon Fly Shiraz
Style: Soft, juicy and generous with a twist of spice.
Background: Whilst Shiraz is Australia's most widely planted wine grape, there is still a lot more of it grown in its homeland in the southeast of France where it is known as Syrah. The classic warm climate Australian styles (Penfold's Grange being the most famous) are dense, almost chewy wines, which taste mostly of dried fruits and chocolate. Cooler climates produce wines that are lighter and full of spice. Somewhere in between the two is where Willow Bridge aims to be where the wines are both generous and vibrant. We look for loads of fruit mostly plums and blueberry (but fresh fruits, not dried) and hints of dark chocolate and sweet spices. Each vineyard parcel is treated differently in the winery with a range of techniques employed (white cofermentation, whole bunch inclusion, pumping over vs. hand plunging, extended skin contact etc) based on the characters of the fruit it produces.
Maturation in a combination of new (around 10%) and seasoned Burgundy coopered French Oak barrels adds an appealing mocha character to the wine giving it an extra level of plush sophistication. The final blend was assembled in April, given a light egg white fining and bottled.
Tasting Notes
Appearance: Vibrant mid to deep purple.
Nose: High tone mocha oak overlies a spectrum of dark berry fruits and a range of savoury umami characters. Palate: Rich and smoky to start, but packed full of sweet, jubey raspberry and Satsuma plums. A rich and ripe, nutty tannin structure hold it together with a twist of spice on the finish.
Cellaring: Drinking very well from release, but for those who appreciate maturity, it should happily reward cellaring past 2020.
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