Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
With 4% Viognier, the nose of this Shiraz-based wine offers an appealing mix of plum, fig cake, mocha, olive and large helpings of savory spice. The palate is powerfully tannic and chalky in texture. Nevertheless, the spicy, brambly fruit finds its way to the fore, providing much needed softness. Give this a decant or air time or plenty of protein if drinking now. Drink until 2028.
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James Suckling
Bold aromas of cherries, yellow plums and other orchard fruit here. Some brown spices, too. Very upbeat, fruit-driven palate that carries such plump, fleshy, ripe red-plum and berry flavors. Drink or hold.
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.