Australia's annual release spirit – Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin – is back on shelves and in bars around the country for another year.
Four Pillars combines its Rare Dry Gin with Yarra Valley Shiraz grapes to create a strong sloe containing 37.8 per cent alcohol, and around 60-70 per cent less sugar than a normal sloe gin.
Distiller Cam Mackenzie said 2019 was a terrific season for Victorian cool climate Shiraz, giving the Four Pillars team another great year of the Bloody Shiraz Gin.
“The season was set up nicely courtesy of good spring rain, then January and February saw some very dry conditions with the odd bloody hot day that combined to bring vintage forward by a week,” said Mackenzie.
“The fruit quality was sensational across the board (thanks growers). We followed the same principles as 2018, harvesting some Shiraz early, looking for spice and red berry characters, and a second parcel later in the season to build colour, sweetness and darker fruit flavours.”
To meet increasing demand, this was the first year Four Pillars used grapes from other cool Southern Victorian regions, including Yea Valley and from Southern Bendigo, which were combined with the grapes sourced from the same three vineyards harvested each year in the Yarra Valley.
To create the gin, the grapes are steeped in Rare Dry Gin for eight weeks – where the fruit is de-stemmed and kept mainly as whole berries – and the tanks are kept cold and stirred daily. After this time, the fruit is pressed before being blended with more Rare Dry Gin to achieve its colour and flavour.
“The resulting colour remains a deep, rich, reddish purple. And the aromas and flavours? Well, straight up there are pine forest juniper notes followed by white pepper, dark berries and spices,” said Mackenzie.
“The palate is beautifully balanced with both sweetness and gin in spades, and some nice tannins on the finish.”
The 2019 Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin (700ml) is available in select retailers and bars Australia-wide and has an RRP of $85.00.
