SONGLINES

The 2006 vintage of Songlines McLaren Vale Shiraz has just been released to the Australian wine trade and follows the sell-out 2004 and 2005 vintages.
Only the third vintage to be released in Australia, its youthful image does not do justice to the commitment and experience behind this spectacular, individual, hand crafted wine.

The winemakers behind Songlines are David Fatches and John Duval, two of Australia’s most highly regarded makers of wine with a combined 55 year of International wine making experience. David’s wines have consistently cleaned-up at Wine Shows and John is one of only four men to have been trusted to make Penfold’s Grange.

As these two Australian men sat with friend and business partner Martin Krajewski in his French Chateau – the world renowned winery, Chateau de Sours - a truly international dream was formed; to carefully seek out and select the highest quality fruit in Australia and produce a powerful wine with real longevity that embraces all of the greatest secrets of ‘Old World’ winemaking with an innovative and intoxicating Australian personality.

SONGLINES VINEYARDS

This committed team took a great deal of time to search and discuss and eventually settled on the 40-105 year old, flawless Shiraz vineyards in the McLaren Vale.
These vines have in the past provided grapes for some of Australia’s most famous wines (including Grange). However, the uncompromising selection of individual vineyards means this is the first time their grapes have been assembled as a single wine.
 
McLaren Vale’s unique Mediterranean climate cooled by the southern ocean, combined with the areas huge diversity of quality viticultural soils, altitudes and aspects gives Shiraz grapes with amazing depth of intensity and purity of fruit. 
The quality of the fruit is also a direct reflection of the pride and experience of several dedicated vignerons. Experts and artists in their field, all the vineyards have low yields and are hand pruned and picked. Fruit is carefully selected for picking in stages, with pickers carefully choosing rows, part rows and even vines by vine to ensure optimum harvest time for all fruit.

It was the Songlines team respect for these vignerons and their sites that led them to believe that McLaren Vale Shiraz can rival any in the world.
 
The vineyards are unirrigated and all yields are below 2 tonnes to the acre and in the case of Sand Road and Willunga Road less than 1.5 tonnes per acre. All blocks are pruned by hand and all picking is done by hand.

David Fatches intimate knowledge of the growers and their vineyards is essential and he visits at least once a month during the year and every week during vintage. Careful organisation during harvest allows them to pick not vineyards but rows or even vine by vine to ensure optimum harvest time for all fruit.

SONGLINES WINEMAKING

The winemaking behind Songlines depends on the qualities of the year and is extremely complicated as no individual vineyard parcel is given the same treatment. Each vineyard is separated into a minimum of 2 discrete batches for fermentation, often more, and different techniques applied to each.

In truth, a great many techniques are used all depending on the individual batch and what is required by the grapes. The decision is made at the time of harvest and not predetermined to a recipe.

About 15% of the total is fermented in new oak barrels, giving more integrated intense yet softer rounder extraction of oak flavour and tannins.

Before being assembled batches are matured for a minimum of 18 months in new oak barrels, approximately 90% French and 10% American.

What does remain constant is the careful and expert husbandry and faultless attention to detail.  Each individual parcel is tasted daily and acted on to respond to its needs. 

The result is a process which builds layers of flavour and amazing tannin complexity into the songlines allowing for development in years to come.

It will reward those with the appropriate cellar conditions for extended maturation of 20 years or more.

The team at Songlines Estate realises that packaging is part of the premium image and culture of fine wine as well as an aid to extended to maturation. Each bottle of Songlines is individually wrapped in tissue paper to protect the label and sold in lay down, 6 bottle, hand-made wooden boxes.

SONGLINES WINES

The combination of arguably one of the most knowledgeable and innovative winemaking teams in the world and the very best grapes from the finest Australian vineyards could not be limited to just one wine! Hence Bylines and Leylines were born.

Songlines McLaren Vale Shiraz 2006
Songlines winemaking focuses on balancing fruit concentration, power and length with freshness, balance and firmness for longevity in pursuit of the world’s best Shiraz.

Bylines McLaren Vale Shiraz 2006
Just like its stable mate Songlines, Bylines Shiraz is expertly hand-made from the best Shiraz vines in the McLaren Vale.
The difference between the wines is that the batches selected for Bylines are those that will show a more generous flavour earlier in its life, with softer tannins, rounder structure and a more open display of fruit character; a wine with all the style and character of Songlines but will be drinking well within 12/18 months and also reward patience and further ageing for up to 10 years or more.

Bylines Hunter Valley Chardonnay 2007
A labour of love for self-confessed Chardonnay addict, David Fatches. The Chardonnay fruit comes from the Songlines Estate site in the Hunter Valley, an area famed for its characterful white wines. This site undergoes serious vineyard selection, with not a single vine under 30 years old being considered.

Leylines McLaren Vale Shiraz 2006
Leylines is made with the same meticulous care and attention as Songlines but with a smaller price tag.
The grapes come from vineyard blocks that neighbour Songlines and Bylines McLaren Vale Shiraz and the fruit has been specifically hand-chosen for its approachability as a young wines. 2006 saw a selection from some older vines, including a component from 105 year old vines.

These are blended with a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes (90% Shiraz, 10% Cabernet in final blend) from the third generation family-owned Kidman vineyard in the Coonawarra, giving Leylines its own deep heritage.

All the wines are made in small quantities and are only available through Scotchmans Road, Email: info@scotchmans.com.au Phone: 03 5251 3176

SONGLINES FUTURE

Songlines has already received acclaim from around the world with England’s Decanter Magazine (Feb 06) claiming “Songlines has a marvellous intensity of 100-year-old Shiraz fruit, with none of the heaviness of some Australian Icon wines, a superb wine, perhaps the Latour of the McLaren Vale,” and Australia’s National Liquor News (June 06) stating, "Songlines has burst onto the scene with a philosophy and confidence based on an assertion of greatness and inherent quality…it’s a superb first effort that helps the realisation that exceptional new release wines do occur.”

The Songlines team’s years of experience, proven quality record and commitment to the future is sure to see each vintage show the same sell out success of the previous releases.