Take It To The Grave Shiraz 2022

Take It To The Grave is a South Australian label from winemakers Nicholas Crampton and Corey Ryan, and this Shiraz comes from the Barossa Valley, one of the country's benchmark regions for the variety. The Barossa has a warm continental climate with hot dry summers and cool nights, a diurnal range that ripens Shiraz fully while preserving acidity and colour. Its old alluvial and clay-loam soils give deeply coloured, concentrated fruit, and the warmth accounts for the ripe 14.5 percent alcohol. The wine is aged in wood, where oxygen exchange through the barrel softens tannin and adds vanilla, smoke and spice, while malolactic fermentation rounds the palate into a fuller, softer texture. The colour is dense purple-red. The nose is ripe and generous, with dark plum, black cherry and pepper over cocoa and a smoky, spiced oak note. The palate is full bodied and warm, with soft ripe tannin, a chocolate and liquorice depth and a long finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees, decanted to open the fruit. It is built for grilled and roasted red meat.