Winemaker Notes
Deep rich crimson in color. Succulent blue fruits, blackcurrant paste, blackberry and spiced plum aromas are interwoven with savory Dutch licorice, sage, cracked black pepper and cedar. The palate has lovely concentration, with layers of sweet plum, blackberry and licorice, finishing fleshy and well-structured, with rolling chalky tannins.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
This Museum & Rare Collection release maintains a firm but fine backbone of polished tannins which, together with the youthful primary fruit (predominantly black), brings potency and great presence to the palate. Sage, winter greens and underripe strawberry lend nuance and freshness. There is subtle viscosity too, with tertiary tapenade character and nutty, savoury oak. But there's plenty of mileage here too, with mouth-coating tannins and cleansing acidity to the finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Mount Edelstone Vineyard Shiraz hails from a drought year—it was tough. In fact, the 2014 Edelstone was released before the 2013. Yet now, we look at this wine, 11 years from harvest, and the wine is svelte and seamless in its flow of flavor across the palate, with pomegranate molasses, alpine mint, dried herbs, a hint of arnica, rose petals and black cherry. It is chewy, elegant and spiced. Rating:96+
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James Suckling
Very old vines. Given all the attention in the world, this has a swirling array of roasted brown spices across aromas of rich, ripe blackberries and dark plums. Some roasting herbs, too. The palate shows luscious concentration and depth. The really plush and smooth tannins are carrying deceptive power and deep, weighty fruit. A richer Mount Edelstone. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
From a 106-year-old vineyard, this is a dense wine but it nevertheless walks a seamless line between power and grace. Tangy plum, blueberry, dark chocolate, coffee, wild herbs and grated nutmeg glide together on the nose. The palate is full and concentrated, silken in texture and intricately woven with sinewy tannins. Its best is yet to come.
(Cellar Selection)
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Wine Spectator
Rich and lush, with fleshy black cherry, plum and black licorice notes and a complex chorus of Earl Grey tea, vanilla custard, chocolate and date nut bread details lingering effortlessly on the finish. Drink now through 2028.
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.”
Higher in elevation and topographically more dramatic than the Barossa Valley floor, Eden Valley abuts it to its south and east. While it is a bit of an extension of Barossa, Eden Valley is topographically different than the pastoral Barossa Valley, and is composed of rocky hills and eucalyptus groves.
Recognizing Eden Valley’s potential with Riesling in the 1960s and 70s, producers started to move their Riesling production from Barossa to these better sites where schist soils on hilltops would produce more steely, tart and age-worthy examples. A most famous site, planted by Colin Gramp, called Steingarten, today produces one of the most outstanding Australian Rieslings. Youthful Eden Valley Rieslings express floral, grapefruit and mineral, while with time in the bottle, they become increasingly toasty and complex.
Riesling isn’t the only grape the region can grow; undeniably at lower altitudes Shiraz does very well. Mount Edelstone is a notable vineyard as well as the Hill of Grace, which boasts healthy Shiraz vines well over 100 years old. This is the only Australian region where Merlot has a made a name for itself and Chardonnay can be spectacular, particularly from the High Eden subregion in the southern valley.