Winemaker Notes
The Moritz vineyard was planted in 1975 in a fine sandy soil with pebbled ironstone top soil. Located in the lowest elevated sub-district Kangarilla it is dry-grown and trellised. The Syrah vines are encouraged to yield approximately 2 tonne per acre or 34 hectolitres per hectare. Consistent vineyard characters include coffee, blue berry and black olive like vibrance in the primary fruit spectrum.
Moritz displays balance and intensity. Bitter chocolate and coffee flavors mingle with the earthy meatyness and combine to provide a supple experience.
Professional Ratings
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Australian Wine Companion
Very good colour; strongly structured, with black fruits and distinct tannins; borders on full-bodied, and will repay extended cellaring.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2011 Clarendon Hills Moritz Syrah is forceful and appealing. TASTING NOTES: This wine offers a long and lusty palate experience. Its explosive aromas and flavors of deep, black fruit and oak should pair famously well with suckling pig and grilled corn. (Tasted: June 20, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 Moritz Syrah is medium to deep garnet-purple in color and displays aromas of black truffle, moss-covered bark and black loam over a core over ripe plums and black currants. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the mouth with earthy black fruit flavors supported by a medium level of chewy tannins and finishing with good length. Drink it now to 2024.
Rating: 90+
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.