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2016 VINTAGE

We had a very dry spring leading up to vintage 2016 and it was windy, too. We expect these kinds of windy conditions in Willunga, but this was pretty intense. October and December were both pretty warm, whereas November was mild. Very healthy crops were recorded across all varieties in McLaren Vale. We had a huge downpour at the end of January a few days before the whites were due to be picked; this kind of weather event tends to give Joch a sense of tightening around the left chest area, neck and sometimes down the arm. However this 50mm downpour succeeded in refreshing the vines, giving us a few more days before picking and bringing the lawns back from the brink. February was mild with cool nights and March provided pretty good picking conditions, give or take a few warm days.

WINEMAKING

Our Pinot Noir vines are nearly 30 years old and I believe are the last 2 or maybe 3 blocks of this variety left in the district. In that way they are practically an historical anomaly – McLaren Vale grew masses of Pinot in the 1980’s mainly to supply wineries with sparkling wine base. We kept ours, although Ding’s Block Shiraz was once all Pinot. The young Joch Bosworth actually helped plant Braden’s Pinot way back in 1987 when he was drafted into labour by old man Peter. Ah, nothing like cheap labour back then.

In deference to our warm climate we pick the Pinot early and make it more like a Beaujolais than a Burgundy because we want to make a wine with soft tannins and gentle aromas on the strawberry end of the spectrum. To do this we put about 30% of the grapes through carbonic maceration. The grapes are hand-picked and allowed to ferment (without being crushed) in plastic bags in apple crates. We processed the balance of the grapes in a fairly standard red winemaking fashion; crushed, fermented, pressed off skins into (predominantly older) oak before blending back to the ‘cab mac’ component and bottling.

TASTING NOTES

There are beautiful ripe red fruits on the nose – think plums and strawberries along with a light, alluring spice. The Bosworth Pinot Noir is a middle weight wine with red fruit running through the palate and framed within lovely tannins. This wine goes very well with cheeses, chicken dishes and charcuterie.  

Battle of Bosworth Wines

The wines take their name from the original Battle of Bosworth, fought on Bosworth Field, Leicestershire, England in 1485. Here the last of the Plantagenet Kings, Richard the III, was slain by Henry Tudor, becoming the last king of England to die in battle. His death ended the War of the Roses. The roots of the Bosworth family’s battle were planted in the early 1840’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. This McLaren Vale ‘Battle of Bosworth’ is symbolised on the label by the yellow Soursob (Oxalis pes caprae) which is used in the vineyard to combat other weeds.

Organic Viticulture

Organic farming is based on minimising the use of external inputs, and as such our certified organic grapes are grown and processed without the use of synthetic chemicals or fertilisers. Our system of organic viticulture at Battle of Bosworth works with nature rather than against it, and by keeping harmful chemicals out of the land, water and air, creates a healthy environment rich in flora, fauna and nutrients; the perfect environment for growing the very best quality wine grapes. Battle of Bosworth grows Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Chardonnay, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir and Mourvèdre (and a little Graciano and Touriga Nacional) which are fully certified organic by Australian Certified Organic (ACO), a process that takes four years. The vines are all now 20 years and older.

(SKU: BB_PN_16)