Ferdinand is fashioned from fruit grown to a single low yielding, eighty years old vineyard in the ancient winemaking commune of Greenock. A very simplistic hands off approach to the vinification followed by extending ageing in a selection of well seasoned oak barrels softens the tannins while allowing the sensational character of old vines Barossa Shiraz to speak for itself. The nose is engaging and complex, the palate generous and full bodied, tame oak and supple tannins, a brooding, no holds barred example of the classic Barossa style.

The Herren Ryan und Teusner are well schooled at hand making hearty wines exhibiting real style and true personality. They take an interest in restoring old sites with a view to crafting small batches of outstanding single vineyard wines. Ferdinand is sourced from a precious site at Greenock where the vines are planted to rich sand over clay soils at altitudes of 245 metres. Shiraz is vinified in traditional open top fermenters and pumped over twice daily by hand, followed by a good old fashioned basket press and completion of ferments in barrel. Batches are transferred to an equal balance of new and seasoned French oak for thirty months maturation before bottling without any fining or filtration.