Barossa Valley Estate Releases New Vintage of E&E Shiraz.

Benchmark Wine Delivers Rich, Full Bodied Fruit

GONZALES, Calif. -- Barossa Valley Estate releases the newest vintage of one of Australia's most renowned wines -- the 2003 E&E Black Pepper Shiraz. Now available in stores nationwide, the E&E Shiraz is packed with rich flavors of dark chocolate, spice, coffee, and ripe raspberries. Representing the pinnacle of Barossa Shiraz, this benchmark wine consists of grapes from some of Australia's oldest vines.

"We're extremely pleased with this year's vintage," said Stuart Bourne, winemaker at Barossa Valley Estates. "Each year, our growers and winemakers work hard to deliver intensely concentrated flavors and unique character that has come to be associated with Barossa Valley Estate, and this year is no different. We are proud to be able to consistently deliver world class Shiraz."

Winemaker Stuart Bourne says despite the fact that this is one of Australia's most awarded wines, the process of making this benchmark Shiraz is very down-to-earth and unpretentious. It is also indicative of the intimate working relationships between winemaker and grower. The vines are cultivated only with the utmost of care while the grapes are always carefully selected.

There is a base of more than 70 growers throughout the valley, who each has part ownership in the cooperative that is Barossa Valley Estate. E&E is traditionally sourced from the low-cropped Shiraz vineyards located in the drier northeastern part of the valley around Ebenezer. The average vine age is around 60-years old.

"There are very close associations between all these growers - third, fourth, and fifth generation on the same block in some cases. They're descendents from the Germanic Lutherans that settled the Barossa Valley. They're a tiny community, a proud community, and as individuals, great to work with. There's well over thirty-five grape growers in this bottle of wine. They're actually the backbone of the business. It's all about that symbiotic relationship between grower and winemaker," said Bourne.

"In 2003, in these vineyards, we had early vine stress due to dry growing conditions throughout the year. And for us, that stress is a good thing." said Stuart Bourne. "As a result, we had lower yields, smaller berry size, and therefore, greater intensity of flavor. The 2003 vintage of E&E Black Pepper Shiraz is luscious and vibrant, showing lots of cherries, plums, dark chocolate, spice, and pepper, and has a wonderfully soft finish."

E&E Black Pepper Shiraz is named after two of the founding group of German growers in the Barossa, Elmore Raehr and Elmore Shultz. "Black Pepper" is a varietal characteristic of the Shiraz grape. The wine is available nationally for a suggested retail price of $85.

Barossa Valley Estates is imported by Pacific Wine Partners, a Constellation Wines U.S. company and a leading producer of premium California wines and importer of wines from Australia and New Zealand. Constellation Wines U.S. is part of Constellation Wines, the world's largest wine business, an operating division of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B) ("CBI"). Constellation Wines U.S. encompasses four of CBI's U.S. wine businesses: Icon Estates, Centerra Wine Company, Pacific Wine Partners, and North Lake Wines. Pacific Wine Partners produces several top California brands including Blackstone, Black Box, Rex Goliath and Hayman and Hill and is the U.S. importer for Banrock Station, Hardys, Leasingham, Barossa Valley Estate, and Chateau Reynella from Australia and Nobilo from New Zealand.