Born in New South Wales, Australia, a semi-arid region of the Land Down Under, these grapes are heavy on pepper and spice, deep fruity flavor and earthy tones. This was a great bottle of wine, highly drinkable alone and a KILLER value in the under $15 a bottle range. While I haven’t learned much about Nugan wines here is what I could find about this one (it is notable that this Aussie wine is not fermented in stainless steel as many of them are).
Grapes picked: March 2002
Vintage conditions: Warm days, cool nights; Moderate rainfall
Fermentation time & temp: 8 days between 22-25°C
Method: The Shiraz grapes were crushed, yeasted and pumped over in traditional style so as not to extract bitter tannins
Oak Treatment: American and French Oak treatment
Post blending treatment: Coldstabilizedd, filtered and bottled
Bottled In: August 2003
Drink now or cellar for up to 2-3 years
Owner: Nugan Family
Winemaker: Daren Owens
Appellation: Nugan Family
Vintage: 2002
Grape: 95% Shiraz; 5% Durif
Drink now or by End of 2006.
Drinkable Score: 8.0/10
Winemaker’s notes: Machine harvested. Premium parcels of fruit were crushed/destemed and fermented in vinimatics and statics vessels with auto irrigators. Primary ferment was completed in 6-8 days, followed by bagpressing onto American oak tank staves. Once seeded for malolactic fermentation a portion of Shiraz was drained off into barrels for maturation. Post blending, the wine was cold stabilized, filtered and despatched for bottling.
Price: Under $15