2021 Tyrrell's 8 Acres Shiraz

The Tyrrell’s estate, nestled in the foothills of the Brokenback Range in the Hunter Valley, is a unique patchwork of vineyards. Thriving in a diverse range of soils, from sandy loams lying on ancient creek beds to heavier red clays over limestone, these vineyards produce some of the most distinctive and refined wines in the world.The 1.5-hectare 8 Acres vineyard was planted with Shiraz vines in 1892. It sits just below the 4 Acres vineyard beside the driveway up to the winery at an elevation of 130 metres. Like the 4 Acres, it sits on deep-red podzolic clay over limestone, but the vine orientation is north–south, perpendicular to the 4 Acres vines, and the vineyard produces a different style of wine altogether. On the western side of the vineyard there are also 1.7 hectares of Pinot Noir vines, which it shares with the 4 Acres vineyard. Taken as cuttings from Mount Pleasant, they were planted in 1972 by Murray Tyrrell with the aim of replicating the great red wines of Burgundy. Traditionally a component of the Vat 9 blend, since the 2018 vintage one cask of wine from the 8 Acres vineyard has been bottled on its own to be released as the 8 Acres Shiraz.