Winemaker Notes
Colour: Deep dark vibrant red
Aroma: Complex array of ripe dark fruits from blackberries to blood plums, with hints of peppercorn aromas, lifted by a subtle, yet spicy, sweet vanilla oak.
Palate: The wine is soft and rich while maintaining the persistent elegance of a cooler climate Shiraz. Generous ripe dark berry fruit and sweet spice flavours fill the front palate and extend into the richer licorice and black pepper of the mid palate. Savory oak and soft tannins provide a complex, long and sustained finish.
Professional Ratings
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.