Battle of Bosworth McLaren Vale
Battle of Bosworth was established in 2001 by Joch Bosworth and Louise Hemsley-Smith. The wines take their name from the original Battle of Bosworth, fought on Bosworth Field, Leicestershire, England in 1485. The roots of the Bosworth family’s battle were planted in the early 1850’s with their first vineyard in McLaren Vale. The modern day Battle of Bosworth saw the conversion of ‘Edgehill’ vineyard to organic viticulture by Joch Bosworth in 1995.
Joch and Louise have been growing their grapes organically for 21 years this year. Joch's vision saw him convert 24 acres of vines to organic viticulture in 1995. In 1999 they gained their
organic certification from ACO P/L (Australian Certified Organic). This process represented a big leap of faith in many regards, not least because in those days 'organic' was not the buzzword it is today. Their vineyards were the first in McLaren Vale to achieve organic certification, too, and they were the very first winery to release an organic wine. Hats off, Joch.
TOURIGA NACIONAL
WINEMAKING
We have been growing this Portuguese variety for a number of years now. It was grafted onto some 25 year old Shiraz vines. Traditionally the variety is used to make vintage fortified Ports, although has been used more and more to make mid-weight dry red wines over there. We crushed the grapes and fermented them in small open fermenters. We didn’t use any oak in the making of this wine (as opposed to the inaugural 2014 vintage) as we want to capture and show off the lovely florals which are characteristic of the variety. We bottled the Touriga relatively early, too.
TASTING NOTES
It has fine even tannins, with red fruits, and hints on black fruits on the palate. The wine did not spend any time in oak at all, so all of the tannin is skin derived. Serve with Portuguese chicken and cucumber, fennel and avocado salad as suggested by The Australia’s Weekend Magazine’s chef, David Herbert.
No recommended products at the moment.
