Archer
Made by one of Australia's most respected and prolific wine critics, Nick Stock
Heathcote, Victoria
www.santewine.com.au
The ARCHER project was put together by renowned Australian wine writer, Nick Stock, in 2004. Having made Heathcote shiraz with his brother under their TWOFOLD label for a couple of years and tasted nigh on every wine being made in the region, he felt there was the potential to deliver better quality and better value Heathcote shiraz. The first ARCHER was released from the 2005 vintage.
Work on crafting balanced, complex and approachable wine starts in the vineyard with a range of parcels selected across different expositions, clone types and harvest dates. In the winery these are all vinified separately in small 10 hectolitre open fermenters, with a reasonable proportion of whole bunches and without the addition of cultured yeast. These are foot trodden and hand plunged.
In 2008, an exceptional parcel of grapes was identified and fermented without any de-stemming and given an extended maceration. This parcel has been bottled as an individual wine under the Eagle Eye label.
“I’m aiming for approachability, elegance and complexity. Wine for drinking.” Nick Stock
YOU CAN BUY ARCHER WINE ONLINE CLICK HERE>
ARCHER Heathcote Shiraz
(2008 vintage)
An amalgam of four parcels with a significant proportion (50%) of whole bunches and a small amount of viognier co-fermented. Fragrant red and blue fruits with a distinct tar and liquorice edge to it, the oak sits nicely inside the fruit. The palate rolls on smooth fluffy tannins carrying dark cherry and plum flavour, finishing fresh and neatly balanced.
“Really lovely” (2007 vintage)
“This is plush drink now Shiraz that effortlessly ticks all the right boxes. For starters there is a really lovely solid core of sweet dark fruit around which you’ll find smells of meat, smoke, and middle-eastern spice, while in your mouth Archer is full and firm with measured tannin and bright acidity keys to success.”
Matt Skinner, The Juice
“A beautifully textured wine” (2007 vintage)
92/100 points
“Please decant – even if just for twenty minutes or so. It’s then a beautifully textured wine, full of class and pure, honest flavour. It’s so silken that you almost want to lick it as much as drink it, though grainy, savoury tannins bring you back to the task. Flavours of plums, cloves and ink. Very, very nice.”
Campbell Mattinson, Big Red Wine Book 2009
ARCHER Eagle Eye Heathcote Shiraz
(2008 vintage) – limited, 1680 bottles produced
A single parcel fermented on skins for 36 days in two small open fermenters with no de-stemming or additions. Smells of complex musk and red fruit fragrance, some spice and layered black fruits, hints of minerals and wild berries. The palate is all about finesse and elegance with deceptive concentration, length and power – tannins are layered in soft sheeted formation.
