Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
An exceptional and warm vintage has delivered a mighty Graveyard with a super complex nose that offers rich dark plums and berries with a wealth of rich, meaty black olives and assertive tannins. The red-plum flavors thread long through polished, clear-cut tannins. First release since 2014. Complex. Best from 2025.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz leads with blood orange and star anise, chinotto, cocoa, coffee grounds, bay leaf and tobacco. It's quite different aromatically to its peers on the table, and I like it for that. It has character and identity. It's on the finer side but packed with interesting flavors. It's a little more exotic, perhaps. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
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Wine Spectator
Supple and juicy, with accents of black licorice, tobacco and black pepper to complement the wild berry, plum, mineral and herbal accents. Harmonious on the finish, with dense, strong black tea–like tannins. Drink now through 2032.
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.”
Most admired for citrus-driven, mineral-rich and often age-worthy Semillon wines, Hunter Valley is one of Australia’s oldest wine regions and was home to its very first commercial vineyards. The region’s warm summer nights coupled with autumn cloud cover and cool sea breezes allow full ripening and healthy acidity levels for Semillon; its diverse soils of volcanic basalt and white alluvial sands promote the development of Semillon’s delicate aromas. Hunter Valley Semillons can certainly be enjoyed in their youth but with 10 to 20 years in the cellar, the best examples develop intriguing notes of honey, browned butter and roasted nuts.
Chardonnay and Shiraz also do well in Hunter Valley.