Winemaker Notes
#23 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2021
The nose shows lifted notes of dark berries, plum and boysenberry supported by hints of anise and clove. The palate is dark and brooding, with excellent concentration of layeredrich dark fruits with hints of dark chocolate and earth finishing long with youthful tannins.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A rich and powerful wine that is predominantly (89%) sourced from the Barossa Valley and 11% from the Eden Valley to season. Deeply colored, the very fruit-focused nose has ripe blackberries and dark plums with a subtle, cocoa-dust edge. The palate is generously fleshy and satisfying, with rich fruit driving the palate. Blackberry and dark-plum flavors. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Powerful, vibrant and fragrant, with dried lavender, Earl Grey, dried oregano, five-spice power and dark chocolate aromatics to mingle with the core of velvety smooth plum, black cherry and wild blackberry flavors. The tannin's firm up appealingly on the finish, which goes on and on.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Bursting with blueberry and blackberry fruit, Duval's 2019 Entity Shiraz looks to be a winner, cut from the same cloth as the 2018. Vague hints of peppery spice and violet-laced florals add complexity on the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate is ripe, supple and mouthwatering, with an almost crisp edge to the cocoa-dusted 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.