The Hollick Wilgha vineyard is located on the south-western corner of the famed Coonawarra cigar and was first planted in 1975. Hollick Wines have been making a Shiraz from this property since 1988. Vintage 2016 was early, with a warmer October advancing the whole season, such that flowering, veraison and harvest dates were all a couple of weeks early. Berry development and ripening were in line with normal, allowing fruit to develop tannins and complexity. The cooler finish allowed longer hang time contributing to rich medium bodied Shiraz wines with good fruit definition. When optimal ripeness was reached the most outstanding rows of the old vine Wilgha Shiraz block were harvested and transported directly to the winery where the fruit underwent a controlled cold soak to achieve maximum colour and flavour extraction. Fermentation was conducted in open fermenters with regular hand plunging of the cap. To promote the integration of fruit and oak flavours, the wine was drained to a balance of French and American oak barrels for completion of fermentation. Only the best of these barrels were then selected for final blending and subsequent bottling of the Wilgha Shiraz.