In his last 'Test Match', the final test of the 'Tour of Bangladesh' in 2006 on his 31st birthday Jason Gillespie became the first Australian batsman to score a double century in his final Test, with an unbeaten score of 201 runs, facing 425 deliveries over 9 ½ hours. This was all the more amazing coming from one of Australia's finest ever strike bowlers and 'tail end' batsmen.

Later that same year I approached Jason with the idea to select and bottle a 'super premium' Shiraz to commemorate this momentous event and his fine career, to be released on his retirement. Jason loves good red wine, so I despatched samples of some excellent wines I made in the 2005 vintage to England, where he was playing County Cricket.

He made his selection, a 100% Barossa Valley Shiraz from low yielding 80 year old vines in the heart of the valley at Nuriootpa. The wine was aged in new French and American oak hogsheads, then 2400 individually numbered bottles bearing Jason's signature and 201 individually numbered and signed Magnums in their own hand signed wooden boxes were bottled.

For the last 4 years the wine has been quietly maturing at a constant 14 degrees Celsius deep in the hills at Panorama in the 'Wine Tunnels' built in the 1880's for the first Adelaide to Melbourne Train Line. The wine will improve for many years with careful cellaring.

The 2005 DIZZY 201 SHIRAZ is now released after a perfect initial maturation period.

Thomas K Hardy