Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The bulk of Best's 2017 Great Western Shiraz Bin No 0 comes from vines that were planted between 1966 and 1970. Crushed stone, black olives and boysenberries appear on the nose, which bears a distinct similarity to something off the granite sites of Saint-Joseph or Côte Rôtie. It's medium-bodied and streamlined in the mouth, boasting a certain granite-like austerity to its structure, while still having fine-grained, ripe tannins and a long, silky and spice-infused finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
This historic winery, established in 1866, is located in the cool climes of the Grampians in Victoria, west of Melbourne. This is its reserve wine, and while its more affordable LSV is actually a more characterful wine, this is a serious drop intended for cellaring. For now, it's initially reductive, needing plenty of air before revealing a multifaceted nose of plums, currants, orange peel, anise, dried flowers and stones, along with underlying earthy, almost meaty nuances. In typical cool-climate fashion, the acidity on the palate soars, lifting the fruit and spice. Tannins are still chunky and need time to integrate into the wine. Drink 2021—2029.
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.”
Nestled into the tip of its southeastern coastline, Victoria is Australia’s smallest mainland state, second most populous and third largest wine producer. Victoria includes the cool regions of Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and Geelong, made famous mainly by impressive Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The more inland Heathcote and Bendigo lead the way for complex and textured, full-bodied reds. Rutherglen’s fortified wines compete among the best on the planet.