Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Australian Wine Companion
Vines date back to as far as 1868, the youngest 1992. Right there you have an inkling of what is to come: a stunning concentration of fruit. Impressive, but the supple, savoury tannins are up to the task of meeting that deep intensity of black fruits, woody spice and violets. What a team for the future. Of course, this is not to forget the vanillan warm-oak component. A wine of history that still stands firm today.
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James Suckling
A dark, smoky and earthy shiraz with restrained blackberry fruit, this has impressive depth and a lively acidity that gives it excellent balance and a long fresh finish with plenty of wet stone minerality. From the Concongella Vineyard. Still many years of life ahead of it. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I'll come right out and say it—I love the Best's Bin 0 Shiraz. It has it all: it's composed of cool-climate detail and complexity, but it has a baritone of fruit which, on release, is vibrant to the point of luminescent. However, after a couple of years, say here, in the 2019 Great Western Shiraz Bin No 0, you start to see a swathe of savory characters creeping in. There are notes of autumn leaves, mahogany furniture, licorice and roast meat crust. It retains all of its succulent fruit polish but introduces these complexing characters. At circa $50, it routinely offers classy value-for-money drinking (still premium, granted) and ages with grace and poise. What a wine. Rating: 94+. Best after 2022.
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.