2023 Frank Ernest ‘FE’ Shiraz | McLaren Vale

Our flagship wine and a tribute to Grandad representing the best parcels of fruit from our estate vineyard along with the Osmond and Romano vineyards. We only produce the Frank Ernest or ‘FE’ Shiraz in special vintages. Flavours of blackberry and chocolate dipped plums, aromas of musk, dark berries, tar and anise. A McLaren Vale Shiraz with style and substance.

WINE REVIEWS

95 points – Sam Kim (Wine Orbit)

“Wonderfully fruited and enticing, the wine shows blackberry, star anise, vanillin oak, rich floral, and dark chocolate characters on the nose. It’s equally impressive in the mouth, delivering terrific weight and plush texture, beautifully framed by silky tannins, making it sumptuous and deliciously appealing.”

93 points – Steve Leszczynski (QWine Reviews)

“Dense and muscular on opening, the Frank Ernest is the flagship of the Three Dark Horses label, a tribute to their grandfather. Wild yeast fermented with 20% whole bunches, it sees French oak (50% new) for 20 months. Dark chocolate, stewed berries, blackberries and plums are the main players delivered with a generous yet measured intensity. A Shiraz with comforting appeal, the use of whole bunches has certainly added some oomph. Dark chocolate sits at the core and cloves rise up late with an array of woodsy spices and five-spice scattered about. Sleeves of sandy tannins reach out on a long finish and dry out ever so slowly. It’s a wine that showed better with some time in the glass over a couple of days of tasting. Be sure to decant to have it singing and soften those edges. Age will not weary it, that’s for sure.”

RRP $50

Composition
Shiraz
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Alc/Vol
0%
Other Details

Sand over Ironstone

Romano Vineyard, McLaren Vale

750ml

Cellar potential 10+ years

Vinification

8 day open ferment with regular pump overs. 20% as whole bunches. Wild yeast. 20 months in new (50%), 1 year old (25%) and 2 year old (25%) French oak. Bottled without fining or filtration.

Nose

Perfumed but also dense and expressive. Aromas of musk, dark berries, tar and anise.

Palate

Flavours of blackberry and chocolate dipped plums. Some cardamom spice and a touch of earth. Soft and rich with a plush mid-palate. Dense but persistent tannin giving it flow and a long, even finish.