The Racking of Heinz

Way back in the pre-harvest days of 2006, winemakers Rob Power and Craig McDonald decided to “go big or go home”, purchasing a large volume barrel called a demi-muid, which could hold in the neighbourhood of 620L.  A cellar hand, in a moment of Germanic flamboyance, dubbed the big boy “Heinz”.   The name has stuck, and both Heinz and the wine within him have taken on superstar status.

What’s so experimental and special about Heinz?  So many things!  He was Creekside’s first venture into demi-muid barrels and so got the star treatment.  A local cooper was called in to knock off the top rings and essentially remove the barrel’s head.  A selection of the very best Shiraz from the 2006 vintage, along with some lightly pressed Viognier skins, were then fermented right in the barrel.  When all was said and done, the fermented must was bucketed out by hand, pressed, and the juice returned to the same barrel, where it has sat until now.

He has been the unparalleled star of every tour to go through the Creekside barrel cellar since the fall of 2006 and was constantly stalked  by the camera-toting, devoted paparazzi of wine fans who cuddled, straddled, kissed, and otherwise harassed (though we really don’t think he minded…he’s not exactly shy).

We thought for sure that this barrel would be part of the 2006 Broken Press Shiraz, but in a flight of other stellar Shiraz barrels from the same vintage, dear Heinz was like a beacon that practically screamed “I’m different damn it!  You WILL bottle me separately!”

We don’t argue with demi-muids…frankly they’re a little scary when they get agitated, so Heinz was the last 2006 Shiraz barrel brought up from the cellar after nearly 24 months of sitting pretty on his original lees, and was racked separately as part of a new line of very limited production, experiemental bottlings.  Keep an eye on the Creekside website for more details on the release of the 2006 “Headless” Shiraz…at an expected bottling size of 60-65 cases, you can bet competition for bottles will be fierce.

Please click on the Full Screen Mode button (the button in the bottom right corner of the photo show)for a better look, and click any image for a description. Meet Heinz: