Winemaker Notes
The palate, though big and opulent, has an elegant, smooth texture, some mocha and cedar oak character combined with ripe, dark berry fruit and fine tannins. The mid palate's ripe berry flavors will, with time, reveal more complex characters such as dark chocolate, licorice, wood smoke and warm leather, as the wine ages and evolves.
A full bodied, rich, rewarding Shiraz that expresses the warmth of the Australian vintage and the riper flavors, obtainable from the renowned Limestone Coast regions - a wine both generous and harmonious.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Crisp in texture, with an overlay of earthy green olive character on a taut core of blackberry and tar flavors that persist nicely on the juicy finish. Drink now through 2013. 60,000 cases imported.
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.”
Covering a long strip of southeastern coastline in South Australia, the Limestone Coast growing region has a moderately cool climate and includes the subregions of Coonawarra, Mount Benson, Mount Gambier, Padthaway, Robe and Wrattonbully.
Its warm northern and inland areas are recognized for high quality, full-bodied Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. The much cooler Mount Gambier, to the extreme south, is well-suited to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.