Archetype Old Vine Reserve Shiraz 2005
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Wine &
Spirits
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Deeply concentrated and rich, our Reserve Shiraz reveals great fruit intensity. The old vines produce the blackberry, boysenberry, and plum aromas and flavors characteristic of classic Shiraz from the Barossa. The toasty oak is not shy, but is well-integrated, offering notes of mocha and coffee. On the palate, the wine is full and round with a lingering finish. This wine may be enjoyed now with apropriate foods, yet will become even more alluring with time.
Hand-harvested in the early morning, most of the fruit for our Reserve Shiraz comes from the low-yielding (1-2 tons/acre) Chateau Yaldara estate vineyard in the famed Barossa Valley. Additional fruit comes from three neighboring families who have been supplying top-quality grapes to Yaldara from their vineyards since the 1940s and 1950s — from 70-year old vines.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
A complex wine, this comes across as old-fashioned in its tight structure and layered flavors. In between the black mushroom scent and the final peppery bite, there's a supple, firm texture in the middle, suited to lamb. $35.
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2004-
Wine &
Spirits
Located just north of Adelaide in Sotheast Australia, the Barossa is a popular tourist destination. It was discovered a century and a half ago by German and English settlers as having excellent soil and climate conditions for growing wine grapes.
World-renowned for its big, blockbuster Shiraz wines, the Barossa is Australia's equivalent of the Napa Valley in terms of prestige and name recognition. It is also home to some of the highest-rated Australian wineries including Henshke, Penfolds, and Yalumba. A small area about the size of Napa Valley, its major towns are Lyndoch and Tanunda.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Historically and presently the most important wine-producing region of Australia, the Barossa Valley is set in the Barossa zone of South Australia, where more than half of the country’s wine is made. Because the climate is very hot and dry, vineyard managers work diligently to ensure grapes reach the perfect levels of phenolic ripeness.
The intense heat is ideal for plush, bold reds, particularly Shiraz on its own or Rhône Blends. Often Shiraz and Cabernet partner up for plump and powerful reds.
While much less prevalent, light-skinned varieties such as Riesling, Viognier or Semillon produce vibrant Barossa Valley whites.
Most of Australia’s largest wine producers are based here and Shiraz plantings date back as far as the 1850s or before. Many of them are dry farmed and bush trained, still offering less than one ton per acre of inky, intense, purple juice.