Winemaker Notes
Very deep crimson in color. Definitive Mount Edelstone shiraz aromas of sage and crushed black pepper lead to brightly spiced plum, blue and black cherry characters, enveloped by crushed flowering herbs with cedar nuances. Vibrant, wild forest berries are layered beautifully into a rich and elegantly textured palate with fine velvety tannins and lingering notes of black pepper and sage for an extremely long finish.
Pair with beef and Guinness pie.
Professional Ratings
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Australian Wine Companion
Shiraz from the esteemed 107-year-old single-vineyard in Eden Valley, farmed organically and biodynamically and matured in French (80/20 per cent new) and American (20 per cent) oak for 18 months. Tiny yields due to untimely weather events during budburst and flowering. Stephen mentions they had to send a search party out to find grapes, 5.5t is all; in the end picked before the Wheelwright and after Hill of Grace. But what a beautiful wine. Pure blackberry and black cherry, sage, pepper, rosehip, crushed stone, softly spoken cedar tones and liminal tobacco and pan juice glimpses. Superfine savory tannins and a long draw on the graceful finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Mount Edelstone Vineyard Shiraz leads with a profusion of black pepper and sage, violet and raspberry seed, graphite and black tea. In the mouth, the wine is silky and uber fine, with layers of silty tannins that tend to caress the palate rather that sit apart from it. This is a completely seamless release, a beautiful wine. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Yields were so catastrophically low in 2019 that it became necessary to search for another way to release enough of this wine to keep the global market satisfied, so the 2013 vintage was selected as a sympathetic vintage to re-release.
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Wine Enthusiast
From a 112-year-old vineyard planted (unusually for the time) solely to Shiraz, this vintage of Mt. Edelstone is set for the very long haul. Currently quite broody, it unravels with aeration to offer layers of aroma and flavor, from cassis to dried violets and Mediterranean herbs and spices, with a well-tucked toasty, chocolatey-oak note beneath. Powerful, chiseled tannins frame the silky fruit and spice. Will reward many years of cellaring. Drink 2027–2049.
Cellar Selection -
James Suckling
A dry year, iterated as a full-weighted Mount Edelstone baring a burl of thick skin and somewhat drying grape tannins. Scents of menthol, Aussie scrub, licorice strap and blue to black fruit. A sluice of iodine across the finish, admittedly unraveling with air. An ode to classicism that should age well. Drinkable now, but best from 2028.
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Vinous
This sturdy, strong 2019 Shiraz Mount Edelstone has all the ingredients for a long life ahead with a little flair thrown in. It is a distinctly savory wine, with layer after layer of earthy, meaty tones underpinned by generously musky plum aromas. The excellent density of flavor and firm, chewy tannins follow. Peaty, wood smoke and clove flavors linger over the finish. The delicious overall flow and drinkability will hold for some time to come.
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Wine Spectator
Elegant but dense, displaying dark chocolate–covered espresso bean notes, with spiced plum and wild blackberry accents, plus a touch of blueberry syrup, all on a lush, polished frame. Shows polish and refinement, with a long, expressive finish.
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.