Pernod Ricard’s St Hugo winery has released its third year of collaboration with Australian Formula 1 racing star, Daniel Ricciardo.
The DR3 label, named for the driver’s initials and F1 racing number (three), is a collaboration between Ricciardo and St Hugo Chief Winemaker, Peter Munro. The latest release, dubbed DR3 the 3rd, is described by both as the most outstanding set of releases from the series, crafted from vintage 2021.
Like previous years’ releases, there are two wines in this year’s collection, including – DR3 the 3rd x St Hugo South Australian Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 and DR3 the 3rd x St Hugo South Australian Shiraz 2021.
Ricciardo said: “Looking back to when we launched DR3 x St Hugo with two fine wines, we had dreams of where we were going to take our partnership, and three years later we are really hitting our stride. The 2021 vintages of DR3 the 3rd x St Hugo show that we are serious about this, and these wines offer a load of flavour and are perfect for cellaring – love them and they will love you back.”
Munro described the conditions that led the creation of such high quality wines, noting that “the 2021 vintage was exceptional.”
“Good spring rainfall set the vines up well for what was to become a very mild and dry ripening season. Paired with no significant rain, temperatures below average and only three days above 35⁰C in February and March, we had ideal ripening conditions which resulted in an extended ripening window,” Munro continued.
DR3 x St Hugo wines are less traditional in structure than the winery’s core range, aiming to be elegantly expressive in their youth, as well as fruit-driven and floral. Tasting notes for this release reflect this, with the Cabernet Sauvignon featuring notes of raspberry and bay leaf on the nose, with fine tannins, bright red fruits and hints of oak on the palate. Meanwhile, the Shiraz is matured in oak for 14 months then blended, with dark, brooding berry, pomegranate and raspberry fruit.
The latest year of collaboration also has a new dynamic collectable label and gift box, inspired by the sparks that fly off F1 cars on the track.
Wines in the series are available in both 750ml standard format, as well as 1.5 litre magnums, three litre double magnums and six litre Methuselahs.
