THE STUMP JUMP Shiraz  McLaren Vale 2021  The Name  It is rumoured that the inventor of the  Stump Jump plough, which enabled a  ploughshare to jump over tree roots, had  poor eyesight and required regular tests to  ensure he could still operate machinery.  The design of this label is inspired by an  optometrist’s eyechart and serves as a  makeshift sobriety test. If you can hold the  bottle at arm’s length and still read the front  label, you can enjoy another glass.  The Vintage  The preceding winter was beautifully wet,  f  lushing the soil of salts and filling the  soil profile. Spring too was above average,  with rainfalls up until November which  was almost completely dry. November was  hotter than normal which upset the setting  of berries. Just as well as the bunch number  was way up. Two inches of rain in early  February was much appreciated by the  relatively large crops. Where crops where  smaller, berry size grew. The heat produced  a fast flowering, set, and speedy berry  development leading to an early veraison  and the equal earliest start of vintage  on record. A few days in a row around  35°C in February rapidly ripened early  lower cropping vineyards. From then on,  the vintage was mild and dry. Average  temperatures for autumn were down. Some  nice 30°C days late March and early April  helped finish ripening of bigger crops and  late ripening varieties.  Chief Winemaker Chester Osborn  The Winemaking  The grapes used in this wine are mostly  from very old bush vines, and underwent  gentle crushing, traditional open tank  fermentation, basket pressing and oak  maturation prior to bottling.  The Wine  This McLaren Vale Shiraz offers a  beautifully balanced expression with  fragrant notes of raspberry, strawberry,  mulberry, and spice. The palate is juicy and  silkily textured, featuring pure fruit, fresh  acidity, and supple tannins. A remarkable  value, the wine reveals rich, velvety flavors  of blackberries, cherries, wild strawberries,  and mulberries, culminating in a silky  finish. Perfect for savoring now, showcasing  brilliance and finesse.  Residual sugar  pH  0.7 g/l