Winemaker Notes
Try something different by matching Howard Park's Flint Rock Shiraz with a potato and chorizo omelette!
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This Howard Park wine, from the cool-climate Great Southern region, is dubbed Syrah rather than Shiraz, to denote a fresher, more medium-bodied style. The Rhône influence is also present in the form of meat, dried roses, raspberry and cherry preserves, baked clay and a prominent but not overwhelming spiced oak note. The toasty barrel and alcohol can be felt a bit more on the palate, but there’s also plenty of delicate fruit and floral notes, gripped firmly by fine tannins.
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.”
Occupying the tip of Western Australia’s spectacular southern coastline is a wine region of impressive natural diversity called the Great Southern. Here cool climate loving varieties like Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc grow in vineyards hugging its jagged coastlines.
Farther inland, among Great Southern's rolling hills and flatlands, a more pronounced temperature shift between day and night is perfect for the the production of exciting Riesling wines as well as impressive Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.