Winemaker Notes
Peach, apricot and florals provide the lift while surrounded by blue and red fruits, white pepper and peaty earth sitting further in the background. This complex combination of flavours continues onto the palate with the blue/red fruits playing the leading role. Bright acid and tannin drive provide great focus down the middle, bright fruits providing the framework. Soft, expressive and complex.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of blackberries, blueberries and hints of licorice follow through to a full body, with very fine tannins and a soft finish. There is freshness at the end too.
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Wine Spectator
Polished and generous, with flavors of dark chocolate and date bread and notes of dried violet, cumin and tobacco. Shows vibrancy at the core, fleshy tannins and a spicy chai tea accent on the finish that lingers effortlessly. 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.”
Historically and presently the most important wine-producing region of Australia, the Barossa Valley is set in the Barossa zone of South Australia, where more than half of the country’s wine is made. Because the climate is very hot and dry, vineyard managers work diligently to ensure grapes reach the perfect levels of phenolic ripeness.
The intense heat is ideal for plush, bold reds, particularly Shiraz on its own or Rhône Blends. Often Shiraz and Cabernet partner up for plump and powerful reds.
While much less prevalent, light-skinned varieties such as Riesling, Viognier or Semillon produce vibrant Barossa Valley whites.
Most of Australia’s largest wine producers are based here and Shiraz plantings date back as far as the 1850s or before. Many of them are dry farmed and bush trained, still offering less than one ton per acre of inky, intense, purple juice.