Winemaker Notes
The nose shows lifted aromas of violets, dark berries and plum, enhanced by cedary-spicy French oak notes. The palate is full bodied and tightly packed with an array of concentrated dark fruits. Succulent, balanced and long on the palate with ample cellaring potential.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A ripe nose with the classic blackberry compote nose, as well as some more intriguing nuances such as blueberry skin, dried eucalyptus and dark chocolate. Full body, some really structured tannins, driven acidity and a chewy finish. Lots of fruit, but it remains tight and linear throughout. Drink in 2022.
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Wine Spectator
Plump and spicy, featuring clove and nutmeg overtones to the blackberry and huckleberry flavors, with accents of black tea and gingerbread backed by dense, velvety tannins. Drink now through 2033.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Dark berry fruit marks the nose of Duval's 2016 Entity Shiraz. Blackberries, blueberries and plums pick up hints of campfire, charcoal and grilled meat, making it a complete, savory wine, not a simple fruit bomb. It's medium to full-bodied, controlled and contained, without any rough edges and a crisp 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.”
The Barossa Zone encompasses the Barossa Valley and Eden Valley. Some of the oldest vines in Australia can be found here.
Barossa Valley of course is the most important and famous wine growing region in all of Australia where 140+ year-old, dry-farmed Shiraz vines still produce inky, purple and dense juice for some of Australia's best wines.
In the cooler, wetter Eden Valley sub-region, the Hill of Grace vineyard is home to famous Shiraz vines from the 1800s but the region produces also some of Australia’s very best and age-worthy Rieslings.