Description
Our premium version of the emerging LDR (light dry red) phenomena is an inversion. Generally a lighter bodied red grape variety, such as Pinot Noir, is the majority with a bit of a fuller, dryer variety, such as Shiraz, added in smaller amounts. This wine is 85% Shiraz and 15% Pinot Noir and is indeed a fuller version than a true LDR. That said, it is still very much towards the elegant end of red wines.
There’s a bit of history to the style, especially involving a bloke called Maurice O’Shea, a GOAT candidate in Aussie winemaking circles. He played for the Hunter Valley. In the 1950’s and 1960’s he made some superlative wines that were characterised by terms such as “Dry Red”, “Light Dry Red”, “Burgundy”, “Claret”, “Hermitage” etc. Nobody named wines after grape varieties in this time. The wines, including those labelled as LDR’s, aged immaculately, with examples being highly sought after for drinking well into the 1990’s. LDR is both a really contemporary thing and retro thing in the world of wine. It’s at once both “Old School” and “New School”.
So back to our Serendip. We handle our Shiraz for Serendip as an aromatic, rather than a fuller bodied red variety. Super soft and gentle, rather than rough and extractive. It makes a soft perfumed wine. To this we add thePinot Noir that we press from the skins of our premium parcels. That is the dry, structured portion. Shiraz for aromatics and soft fruits, Pinot Noir for grippy dryness… it’s a true inversion. It’s more of a Yarra Valley, aromatic and generously fruited Syrah style with twist.
