Glaetzer Amon-Ra Shiraz 2005
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Brooding, vibrant black with bright purple hues. On the nose, absolute purity with black fruit aromas complemented by notes of fragrant spice.Seamless, rich and full-bodied with black plum flavors intermingling with dried spice and finely balanced supple tannin. Impressive yet restrained.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A monumental wine, the 2005 Glaetzer Shiraz Amon-Ra Barossa Valley is from dry-grown 100-110 year-old Shiraz vines and spends 14 months in 100% new oak, of which 20% is American and 80% French (70% hogsheads & 30% barrique.) The wine offers fresh, clean aromatics of peppered blackberry and raspberry fruit, bramble, licorice and cedar. A touch of chocolate creeps in with air. On the palate it’s full bodied with a rich, broad texture that remains light and fresh, perfect balance, fresh acids and a blockbuster finish where the wine shows savory, edgy tannin. Drink this beauty over the next 10 to 15 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
From a single vineyard in the Ebenezer region, this is simply stupendous stuff. It is a bit Port-like in its rich layers of blackberry fruit, but it also displays great freshness and drive, giving it a juicy, fresh fruit character that's accented even more by dustings of pepper and dried spices. A beautiful marriage of drinkability and ageability.
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Wine Spectator
Smooth, round and spicy, with star anise and soy sauce overtones to the rich cherry and toast flavors, lingering on the generous finish. Has depth and impressive detail.
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The first Glaetzers settled in the Barossa Valley in 1888 after emigrating from Brandenburg, Germany. From here, they settled in a country town called Nuriootpa in the Barossa Valley where they started their new life in Australia. The family were some of the earliest recorded viticulturalists in the Barossa Valley and Clare Valley and the current generation is firmly entrenched in the family wine business.
Winemaking patriarch Colin Glaetzer established his own label to create wines he's passionate about - limited quantities of benchmark Barossa Valley reds. The birth of Glaetzer Wines signalled a new era for Colin's family which boasts more than its fair share of winemakers. The clan includes Colin, his oenology-trained wife Judith, twin brother/winemaker John, and five winemakers among the couple's three sons and their wives.
With the 2004 vintage, Ben Glaetzer took over winemaking at Glaetzer and brought his own flagship wines, Amon Ra and Godolphin, into the fold. Young Glaetzer has implemented many changes at the winery, particularly with regard to harvesting upon physiological ripeness vs. analysis, longer skin contact and the use of the highest possible quality oak barrels.
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.