From our first vintage at Tintilla Estate in 1997 we decided to make a small quantity of Fortified wine to sell initially as a vintage style but we also put aside some of this rich fruity wine for extended ageing & blending in a “solera”, composed of vintages going back some 21 yrs. The liqueur wine is made from our low yielding Shiraz grapes and has added to it Grape spirit when the ferment has consumed almost half the sugar. This preserves the natural sweetness and fruit of the Shiraz by inhibiting any further fermentation. The tannins, sugars and alcohol integrate over time while the wine ages in the barrels. In addition the wine becomes more concentrated and lush as some of the content of the barrels evaporate, the tartaric acid crystals deposit on the walls of the barrels and the tannins become more complex and some tannins drop out. Topping up of the barrels is done with younger wines adding to the complexity and maintaining the health of the contents.