2021 Shadowfax Minnow Rosé

Shadowfax

Australia / Werribee / Shadowfax

2021 Minnow Rosé is a single-site wine from the Shadowfax Vineyard in Werribee.
Good spring rains and a mild growing season led to good crop levels with lots of canopy growth in the Werribee Minnow vineyard. The Pinot Noir, Grenache and Cinsault had superb aromatics, with the Mataro and Syrah giving lovely texture and depth. Hand-harvested fruit was gently
whole bunch-pressed to give minimal colour and tannin extraction. Wild fermentation occurred in older French barrels. The wine rested on lees to relax and unwind for five months prior to assemblage and bottling in September 2021.
Pale penny copper with hints of salmon. Peaches and cream, liquorice, mandarin flesh and hints of complexing nutmeg spice. A generous mouth filling palate shows rich peaches and cream that flows on and on. The high pH gives the wine lovely mouth-coating texture and warmth. The palate is long and flowing with oodles of flavour. The fine lacy tannins frame the wine and the fine acidity keeps the palate fresh and crunchy. The 2021 Minnow Rose is a dangerously drinkable wine best enjoyed chilled with friends on a warm day. - Al Timms, Shadowfax

Jane Faulkner

Halliday Wine Companion 2023

92 points.

The coppery pink hue entices as much as the aromas of spice cherries, blood orange and rind. It’s tangy and juicy, a little piquant and highly appealing. There’s texture and neat acidity keeping it tight and bright, with some tannic oomph to the finish. Well played.

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About Shadowfax

Shadowfax has taken tremendous strides in recent times, with the team refining the range and proving their prowess with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Their single-vineyard Chardonnays have taken out Best Chardonnay at the Macedon Ranges Wine Exhibition no fewer than five times. Especially noteworthy have been the Little Hampton Vineyard in Macedon's high-altitude plantings of Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, in the chilliest region of Australia’s mainland. These are the vibrant future of Australia’s cool-climate wine scene. The counterpoint to this is the dynamic Minnow project, based around the Werribee vineyard’s southern French varieties. The name is both a reflection of the grapes’ underdog status and a clever play on “Minervois”, a southern French appellation where these kinds of blends are common. It's the source of bright, spicy, textured rosé and reds, with the micro-make Mondeuse immediately becoming a delicious cult hit. With long-serving vineyard manager and assistant winemaker Alister Timms taking the helm in October 2017, these are hugely exciting times for Shadowfax.

About

Shortly after completing this second degree, Alister started working at Shadowfax as Assistant Winemaker, a position he held for three years before moving back home to run his family’s winery, Kilgour Estate. In 2008, Alister returned to Shadowfax to manage the winery’s various vineyards and establish the Little Hampton property in the Macedon Ranges, whilst working as Assistant Winemaker to Matt Harrop. When Matt decided to leave Shadowfax in October 2017, after almost 20 years as winemaker, Alister was the obvious choice as his replacement. “I look forward to building on the foundation that we’ve created over the years and seeing our vineyards reach their full potential, and to follow that through in the winery.”