Starward Octave Barrels is an Australian single-malt whisky, taking some of the world’s oldest Shiraz plantings from Australia’s oldest family-owned winery and taking these barrels to create a world first Single Estate Australian Whisky.
This is the first release in the US from Starward Projects, a program that encourages Starward’s distillers to experiment with different whiskies and barrels to create flavor forward and unique expressions, and this is yet another example of their craft. As there is no mold for Australian whisky, Starward has the freedom to make it their own way, learning from the Old World while embracing the flavor possibilities of the New World.
Starward Octave Barrels is matured in 100L octave-sized barrels that previously held Yalumba The Octavius, an iconic Shiraz wine and the world’s only red wine aged in these specialty sized barrels. Once The Octavius is bottled, freshly emptied barrels are sent to Starward’s Melbourne distillery and filled with Starward’s new make spirit that will become their signature single malt whisky. The smaller volume of these robust little vessels, handcrafted from American oak, creates more wood to whisky interaction compared to standard sized wine barrels, allowing this single malt whisky to soak up more of the celebrated characteristics of The Octavius Shiraz as it reaches full maturation.