Media Releases

2002 Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz & Rayner Shiraz Now Under Screw Cap!
5 January 2004

IT MAY SEEM LIKE A LONG TIME…

100years the average age of the oak trees for our barrels
54 years the age of the Rayner shiraz vines
44 years the combined years of experience of our winemakers
36 years the age of our Graveyard shiraz vines
32 years 2004 was our 32nd vintage
20 years the time you would like a great red to age
12 years how long we've been making the Rayner shiraz
2 years quietly aging in oak
6 months lying in the cellar
30 seconds to pull the cork
3 seconds to pour a corked wine down the sink


All that time, all that effort ...

Brokenwood has moved to screwcap closures with its two most important red wines, Graveyard Shiraz and Rayner Vineyard Shiraz.

“We didn’t take this decision lightly”, said Chief Winemaker and Managing Director Iain Riggs, “but eventually it was an easy one. We’re sick and tired of cork taint and random oxidation spoiling some bottles of our wines, and the acceptance of screwcaps with Cricket Pitch Red and White and Brokenwood Semillon showed us the public would be happy with the change.”

This dramatic move shows Brokenwood’s faith in the bottle-ageing of red wines under the screwcap seal.

The 2002 Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz is a richly flavoured but relatively soft Graveyard that will be approachable early, but will continue to develop complex Hunter flavours over many years, in the manner of the 1994 vintage.

The 2002 Rayner Vineyard Shiraz is our ninth release from this very special patch of McLaren Vale grapes. It shows the rich berry and chocolate fruit that the wine has become known for and will age beautifully for many years. The original 1993 is still excellent.

How will reds age under screwcap? Red wines spend between one and two years in 225 litre oak barrels – a moderately oxidative environment. While dissolved oxygen gas is kept to a minimum at bottling, oxygen is present in many compounds such as phenolics, so beneficial oxidative change will still occur.

The rate of ageing is affected by many factors, with temperature particularly important. Brokenwood believes that ageing under screwcap will be at a rate similar to the very best cork, although some characteristics may be different. Importantly, it will be consistent across bottles, while the rate under cork is very variable.

Recommended Retail Price:
2002 Brokenwood Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz $90.00
2002 Brokenwood Rayner Vineyard Shiraz $65.00