Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Australian Wine Companion
This release is on song. Black pepper and peppercorn characters float through cherry and plum fruit flavour. It's lively, it has enough depth, it finishes well and it charms throughout. The fine-grained, savoury aspect of the tannin here is of particular note. If you like the Great Western style, you can buy this with confidence.
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James Suckling
This is good. A cooler climatic expression that remains distinctly Australian, rather than playing the reductive hand of an ersatz Rhone. An exceptional nose of mace, clove, blue fruits, olive and briar, backed by a wave of beef bouillon and iodine-umami warmth. The tannins, a clatter across the middle, with a bow of dutiful acidity drawn to just the right degree of tension. Some scrubby menthol dries the finish ever so slightly. This said, this is a delicious wine of immense personality and soul. Drink or hold.
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.