Koltz The Etruscan Sangiovese Cabernet 2009
Style: Red Wine
Varieties: Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon
Closure: Screwcap
Koltz The Etruscan Sangiovese Cabernet 2009
Pick up
Burke Road
Camberwell VIC 3124
Australia
Producer: Koltz
Country: Australia
Region: McLaren Vale
Vintage: 2009
Critic Score: Not Rated
Alcohol: 14.5%
Size: 750 ml
Drink by: Now
Koltz is a small fifty tonne boutique winery located within the elite Blewitt Springs appellation of McLaren Vale that specialise in Shiraz. Winemaker Mark Day, who goes to Italy annually to make wine, also produces small quantities of Italian varietals.
"Dense, though with some dusty, savoury notes that add a degree of authenticity. Cherry, plum and vibrant fruit with a long and savoury finish. This is smart, though relatively uncomplicated at the moment. Chewy texture to close and creamy oak adds to the finish." Barry Weinman
Expert reviews
"Dense, though with some dusty, savoury notes that add a degree of authenticity. Cherry, plum and vibrant fruit with a long and savoury finish. This is smart, though relatively uncomplicated at the moment. Chewy texture to close and creamy oak adds to the finish." Barry Weinman, Fine Wine Club
About the winery
Koltz is a small fifty tonne boutique winery located within the elite Blewitt Springs appellation of McLaren Vale that specialise in Shiraz and Shiraz blends. Koltz began as a small wine label in 1995 when winemaker Mark Day and Anna Koltunow made their first wine using grapes off a small but very special block of Shiraz vines.
Prior to establishing Koltz, Mark Day had worked as a winemaker for Maxwell Wines and Wirra Wirra in McLaren Vale, and as a consultant in Italy and France for six consecutive European vintages.
The wines are estate grown and hand crafted and made to traditional methods. The operation is very much hands on. Vintage at Blewitt Springs is generally two to four weeks later than most of McLaren Vale. The vineyards are just under 200 metres above sea level and lie on sandy soils over ironstone gravel.
The sandy soils over ironstone make distinctive wines; the Shiraz is elegant with fine silky tannins, great length and lovely mouth feel. The Shiraz is open fermented and basket pressed and portions are treated to an extended maceration for up to fifty days, depending on season and ripeness. The finished wine is matured in a selection of seasoned and new French oak barrels for up to twenty months.
Koltz make two very special wines, The Pagan and The Wizard. Fruit for The Pagan is dried on racks for six to seven weeks prior to crushing and fermentation. The process is similar to that used in Valpolicella to produce Amarone. The Wizard is made in the traditional Ripasso method used in Valpolicella, where the wine is fermented with the skins and lees left over from making Amarone – in this case from making the Koltz Pagan Shiraz.
Tragically, Mark Day passed away in 2021 after a short illness. Life without a Pagan or a Wizard will not be the same.
South Australia
South Australian is responsible for more than half the production of all Australian wine. It is home to more than 900 wineries across 18 wine regions. The regions are Adelaide Hills, Adelaide Plains, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Coonawarra, Currency Creek, Eden Valley, Kangaroo Island, Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale, Mount Benson, Mount Gambier, Padthaway, Riverland, Robe, Southern Fleurieu, Southern Flinders Ranges and Wrattonbully.
Many of the well-known names in the South Australian wine industry established their first vineyards in the late 1830s and early 1840s. The first vines in McLaren Vale were planted at Reynella in 1839 and Penfold's established Magill Estate on the outskirts of Adelaide in 1844.
South Australia has a vast diversity in geography and climate which allows the State to be able to produce a range of grape varieties - from cool climate Riesling in the Clare and Eden Vallies to the big, full bodied Shiraz wines of the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale. Two of Australia's best-known wines, Penfolds Grange and Henschke Hill of Grace, are produced here. There is much to discover in South Australia for the wine lover.