Winemaker Notes
The 2003 Shiraz is a full-bodied, opulently-styled red that smells of creme de cassis and blackberry liqueur intermixed with smoky meats, espresso roast, jammy black fruits, licorice, earth, and toasty new oak. It should evolve nicely for a decade or more.
Full-throttle Shiraz are fashioned by winemaker Kim Johnston from vineyards owned by the Longbottom family. This is an unabashed, flamboyant, Aussie wine that is loaded with fruit, fragrance, glycerin, and intensity. This is the type of wine that Eurocentric wine tasters and condescending elitists tend to dismiss, but it is a fascinating effort the likes of which are made nowhere else in the world. There is certainly no shortage of flavor, and if you like your wines exuberant, flamboyant, and over-sized, this wine fills the tab, and then some.
Professional Ratings
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.”
HNYHDESHZ03C_2003 Item# 79044