Massena Barossa Valley
Massena was established at the turn of the century by Jaysen Collins and Dan Standish. Growing up amongst the old vines of the Barossa inspired a collaboration in making wines of character, balance and a reflection of the sense of enjoyment in the whole winemaking process. The search for amazing vineyards continued year after year which culminated in welcoming Stonegarden custodian Glen Monaghan into the Massena collective. Massena wines are made with a view that each wine has a context. With food, with friends, for no reason whatsoever, they are there to be enjoyed.
WINEMAKING
Massena is all about making wine from great vineyards and the way they go about it reflects this simplicity, with minimal intervention in the winery.
Hand harvesting allows some whole bunch inclusion and the vineyard’s indigenous yeast is used in all ferments.
White wines are whole bunch pressed and fermentation is carried out in either temperature controlled stainless steel tanks or seasoned french barriques. Long ferments on lees give extra complexity, mouthfeel and texture.
The red wines are made quite traditionally, with open top fermentation, gentle extraction and basket pressing followed by ageing on lees in new and seasoned French oak barrels. Extended time on skins post ferment is used to build tannin structure and a savoury profile.
Massena wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered and have minimal sulphur added.
2017 THE MOONLIGHT RUN
Grape Variety: Mataro 73%, Grenache 14%, Shiraz 13%
The Moonlight Run was our midnight drive back to the Barossa after working vintage in the Clare Valley in 1999. We would crave a soft slurpy wine to wash down a hard night’s work, so we decided to make our own. We take inspiration from Southern Rhone wines and this is our take on them.
Sub Regions: Southern Moppa, Light Pass, Greenock, Angaston Foothills, Tanunda
Winemaking: Mataro from dry grown vines on the rose quartz soils of our Dadd’s Block is fermented with 30% whole cluster inclusion and blended with other parcels of Mataro from Light Pass and Greenock. We then add some old bush vine Grenache from the Barossa foothills where the sandy soils are shallow on calcrete and limestone. This complex Grenache fruit adds spiciness and intensity. Add to that some Greenock and Tanunda Shiraz and we have a wine that has a mouthful of everything superb about a Southern Rhone styled blend. Daily pump overs early in ferment, followed by punching down as the ferment finished, ensure gentle and controlled extraction. Aged in tank and barrel, each parcel is selected to add as much interest as possible.
Tasting Notes
Mataro gives roasted cumin, cinnamon, peppercorn and savoury profile that appears in abundance due to the cooler 2017 vintage. This lifted spice plays off with juicy black cherry Grenache aromatics and raspberry sweetness from the Tanunda Shiraz, A true reflection of the 2017 vintage where the volume on weight is turned down slightly, but allows the complexities of these aromatic varieties to abound. A firm tannin line suggests potential for time in the cellar.
Cellaring: Up to ten years
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