Winemaker Notes
The wine delivers classical regional characters of dense, spicy blueberry fruit and savory pan jus. Next come hints of liquorice, plum, and all-spice all delicately interwoven.
A fine grained tannin structure and depth of flavor all show that this wine is made to last the distance in the cellar. A long balanced finish with persistence.
Professional Ratings
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Australian Wine Companion
It pours on the power. It strikes blow after blow of thick, sweet, dense flavour. Blackberry, honey, soy and malt, inflections of mint and cloves, a churn of grainy, muscular tannin. There's real flex here, real grunt. You either succumb or you stand out of its way. Red berry flavours add a brighter note; a light on a mountain of flavour.
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James Suckling
Good weight and fleshy depth here with oak and red berry fruits, cassis and plums. What great integration and there is black salted licorice lurking here.
Range: 93-94 -
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: Old Vines Shiraz is a meaningful phrase, and the 2015 Château Tanunda 100-Year-Old Vines Barossa Shiraz defines this category well. TASTING NOTES: This wine powers on with impressive aromas and flavors of black fruit, well-defined grapey notes, and a hint of anise or tar. Enjoy it with a grilled, well-marbled ribeye. (Tasted: January 31, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
An almost Rhône-ish note of green olive on the nose gives the 2015 100 Year Old Vines Shiraz a bit extra complexity and intrigue. That note is layered over raspberry fruit, hints of vanilla and baking spices and a bit of cocoa. It's full-bodied but not heavy or overly extracted, with gentle, silky tannins that linger elegantly on the finish.
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Wine Spectator
Intense plum, spice and licorice flavors are plush and expressive, with a juicy side and velvety tannins. Cedar, tobacco and nutmeg accents linger on the generous finish. Drink now through 2030. 400 cases made, 20 cases imported.
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.