Winemaker Notes
A very deep dark purple color, delightful fragrant pot pourri driven floral aromatics complement the deep dark cherry fruit intensity of this single vineyard wine. The palate is perfectly balanced with concentrated primary fruits, and the use of sweetly spiced French oak adds integrated mature tannin and further layering of flavors. Persistent lingering flavors ensure that this wine will be long remembered.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 The Pinnacle Shiraz (planted to the Barossa clone BV12) is highly aromatic and leads with molasses and plum skin, dark fruitcake spice and lashings of exotic spice and berries. In the mouth, the wine is chewy and agile, with layered tannins that settle in the mouth and build. It's evocative and superb. The top of the Pinnacle Vineyard (430 meters above sea level) is the highest slope on the Dalwhinnie site, and it has some impressive angles running up the hill.
Though Syrah originated in the Rhône Valley of France, Australia is home to the oldest Syrah (called Shiraz here) vines on the planet. Found in Australia’s Barossa Valley, where phylloxera has never threated viticulture, these ancient vines are between 140 to 175 years old!
Having brought fame and merit to the country’s wine scene since the early 1950s, namely via the debut of Penfolds Grange, today Syrah (Shiraz) claims rank as the most widely planted grape in Australia. In fact, the amount of land dedicated to Shiraz in Australia is now almost equivalent to what it is in France. Australian Shiraz has its own personality with flavors and aromas of intense blackberry, fruitcake, menthol, tobacco leaf and umami. Conveniently one can find great Australian Shiraz at a variety of price points but the very best will be dense, gloriously complex and capable of long aging.