Tasting Notes 🍷

The 2018 Chapter & Verse Shiraz opens with a complex bouquet of dark berries, spiced vanilla plum, and a hint of toasted oak. On the palate, the wine is rich with overly ripe blackberry and blackcurrant flavours, underlined by a touch of savoury earthiness. The fine tannins and balanced acidity support the bold fruit, leading to a long, structured finish with lasting flavour.

Winemaking: The grapes are handpicked at optimal ripeness and undergo a traditional fermentation process with gentle extraction techniques to retain fruit purity while developing depth and complexity. The wine is aged in a combination of new and seasoned French oak barrels for 12 months, which imparts subtle spice and oak complexity to complement the fruit character. The fine tannins and balanced acidity of the wine make it both approachable and suitable for cellaring.

Food Pairing Suggestions:

• Grilled Lamb: Pair with grilled lamb cutlets to complement the wine’s rich flavours and savoury nuances.
• Hearty Stews: A beef stew or braised short ribs is a fantastic match, as the wine’s structure enhances the dish’s depth.
• Charcuterie & Aged Cheeses: Enjoy with a charcuterie board featuring aged cheeses, dried fruits, and cured meats for a sophisticated pairing experience.

Best Serving Temp:

Serve the Byron & Harold Chapter & Verse Shiraz 2018 at 18°C to allow the full depth of its aromas and flavours to unfold.

• If storing at room temperature (22°C): Chill the bottle for about 20 minutes before serving.

Awards & Reviews 🏆

• Partners In Wine WA Tasting Review: A bold, medium to heavy-bodied Shiraz with smooth, ripe berry flavours that make it a real joy to drink. A touch of overripe fruit adds subtle sweetness to the bramble fruit profile. Think of a Jam.

Technical Terms Explained:

• Cabernet Sauvignon: One of the world’s most famous red wine varieties, known for its deep colour, full-bodied structure, and intense flavour. It typically has rich dark fruit notes like blackcurrant, blackberry, and plum, with earthy and herbal undertones. Its tannin structure is firm, which helps the wine age well.
• Tannins: Naturally occurring compounds in grape skins, seeds, and stems that give wine structure and a drying sensation on the palate. Tannins also help preserve the wine, allowing it to age gracefully. In this Cabernet Sauvignon, the fine tannins provide a backbone to the rich fruit flavours.
• Oak Maturation: The process of aging wine in oak barrels, which imparts additional flavours and textures to the wine. Oak can contribute aromas of vanilla, spice, cedar, and toasted notes, as well as a smooth texture and complexity. This wine was aged in French oak barrels, which are known for their more subtle and refined influence on the wine.
• Acidity: The natural tartness in wine that provides freshness and balance. Acidity makes a wine feel lively and bright, and is essential in balancing the sweetness of fruit and the weight of tannins. In this Cabernet Sauvignon, the acidity keeps the wine refreshing and helps it pair well with food.
• Vanilla: A flavour commonly derived from oak during the maturation process. When wine ages in oak barrels, it can take on a vanilla-like character, which contributes to its complexity and smoothness. This wine has delicate hints of vanilla from its oak maturation.
• Cellaring Potential: Refers to how well a wine can age over time. This wine has good cellaring potential, meaning it will continue to develop complexity and depth if stored properly for several years.

Learn more about Byron & Harold

After 60 years in the fine wine business, we proudly put our names on the Byron & Harold label as our solemn pledge to discover, curate, and share the wines we adore with all who appreciate the romance, history, and sheer pleasure fine wine brings to a shared meal.

We have elected to establish ourselves in Western Australia, with a particular focus on the Margaret River and Great Southern regions. These areas are among a select few wine-producing regions in Australia that benefit from a genuine cool climate, thanks to our southerly latitudes and the strong influence of the surrounding oceans on our vineyards.

Paul Byron and Harold (Ralph) Dunning firmly believe that exceptional winemaking originates in the vineyard. They meticulously seek out parcels of Western Australian fruit that they genuinely believe wine enthusiasts desire to savour. These are wines brimming with flavour, true to their varietal nature, and bearing the distinct provenance that reflects the exceptional Margaret River region and the remarkable vineyards of the Great Southern. Accolades will continue to come their way with excellent reviews from Wine Companion & Ray Jordan.

Summer in the Vineyard

Great wine embodies the essence of its origins, serving as a canvas for terroir to share its story with the drinker. The natural splendour of Western Australia’s wine regions yields wines of remarkable beauty, and it’s our skilled winemaker, Rory Parks, who captures this essence in every glass of Byron & Harold wine. He has access to the elegant cool-climate fruit that defines our signature Great Southern wines, as well as the bold, richly structured grapes from Margaret River, known for their power. With this exceptional array of world-class vineyards and the concentrated grapes they produce, Rory expertly crafts wines that reflect the unique characteristics of these esteemed regions.

Summer is a pivotal time in this process, as vineyards across Margaret River and Great Southern embark on their annual vintage. Timing the harvest is crucial; picking too late can expose grapes to the intense February heat, risking a loss of the vital acidity that ensures freshness and structure in the finished wine. Conversely, harvesting too early might sacrifice flavour intensity, as some grape varieties need extra time to reach full ripeness. Thanks to Rory and his team’s expertise, we can harvest at the perfect moment, capturing the grapes at their peak of ripeness and balance.

While summer is a busy period for our wineries, it’s also a delightful season for visitors to the region. Long, sun-soaked days and pleasant evenings create an ideal setting for outdoor activities and alfresco dining. People from all over the world come to enjoy these experiences and explore the many local offerings. The Byron & Harold collection has a wine for every occasion, but we believe that hot days and warm nights call for a chilled glass of our showcase varietal—the Chapter & Verse Great Southern Riesling. Riesling is often celebrated for its ability to express terroir, making it the perfect companion for relaxing in the Great Southern, glass in hand.