Winemaker Notes
Earthy, savory fruited and controlled. It has a deep layering of Kalamata, cigars, espresso and black truffle - within a defined blue-fruited spectrum. It also offers a sublime creaminess along an evolving expression.
Perfume with a waxy, rounded component typecasts this vineyard. The aroma elevation in the glass is distinctly lower than its Grand Cru siblings. Recessed intensity and mid-palate positioning makes for a beautifully centered focus and it forms an axis of length and weight. The Brookman Syrah is for those who enjoy subtlety and softness. This vineyard's best years are displayed after cellaring for 5-10 and thereafter for 15-20.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Very deep garnet-purple colored, the 2008 Brookman Vineyard Syrah has a few reduced, rubbery notes to begin leading to warm cassis, scorched earth, smoked meat, black pepper, cassia and cedar. It’s very rich and condensed on the palate, giving and high level of grainy tannins, refreshing acidity and a long savory finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
The 2008 Brookman Syrah is a rich, plush, luxurious wine. Aromas of cedar, vanilla and black cherry set the stage, while the palate features intense dark fruit layered with hints of olive and coffee. It’s full bodied and creamy in texture, showing just a touch of warmth on the supple finish. Drink now–2020.
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Wine Spectator
Dark and smoky, centering on blackberry and plum fruit, with flavors that persist enticingly against refined tannins on the long and expressive finish.
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.”
Known for opulent red wines with intense power and concentration, McLaren Vale is home to perhaps the most “classic” style of Australian Shiraz. Vinified on its own or in Rhône Blends, these hot-climate wines are deeply colored and high in extract with signature hints of dark chocolate and licorice. Cabernet Sauvignon is also produced in a similar style.
Whites, often made from Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc tend to be opulent and full of tropical, stone and citrus fruit.