The J.E range is dedicated to fruit from our own Ngeringa vineyards. Being a small winery and yet being painstakingly particular with the quality of our fruit and final wine batches, we find ourselves with the dilemma of a barrel or two each year being stubborn outsiders to the style we aim to bottle under our NGERINGA label. And so we have some fun assembling our J.E wines.

100% estate-grown Syrah from our three vineyards: Summit and Rufus in Mt Barker and Illuma in Nairne. Made deliberately to be a more approachable wine than our NGERINGA Syrah, the J.E Syrah is often selected for its juicier fruit expression, gentler tannin profile and approachability when young.

VINTAGE: The 2010 growing season was a kinder one than previous with a wet, cool spring following a mild winter of average rainfall. A cool start to September however halted voracious growth and delayed budburst of our Rhone varietals. A thick harvest of hay was cut in early November thanks to the good spring rains. The onset of summer brought with it the usual heat spikes with the last this year being early February. The few weeks leading in to harvest were ideal - warm even days with cool nights typical of the Mt Barker summit. The fruit ripened steadily and easily, and harvest began the last week of February. Of note for us was the absence of LBAM or weevil damage. The fruit across the vineyard was in excellent condition and was generous in quantity. It was a year for wines of gentile fragrance, politely spoken flavours and defined structure.

WINEMAKING: Fermented with 10% whole bunch and an average time on skins of around 14-21 days before being pressed direct to barrel. Matured in mostly older French oak barrels (15% new French oak) for 18 months with one racking before bottling. Wild fermentation, no enzymes, oxidative handling pre-fermentation, reserved use of oak barrels, spontaneous malolactic fermentation, gentle extraction, warmer fermentation, minimal & rare temperature control. Minimal fining. Estate bottled.



JAMIE GOODE  ww.wineanorak.com  9 October 2012  It’s a tiny bit minty, with a touch of eucalypt character, as well as taut berry fruits. Good definition and freshness. 90/100