Winemaker Notes
Blend: 57% Marsanne, 30% Roussanne, 13% Viognier
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Former Penfolds Winemaker John Duval is today producing a range of soulful wines that present beautiful drinking across the classic varieties in the Barossa. Pale straw in the glass and you will find pure, white peach and pithy lemon characters here along with supporting notes of clotted cream, apricot kernel, soft spices, marzipan and dried flowers. With excellent harmony on the palate it flows to a persistent finish laden with spices and stonefruits. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Plexus Blanc reveals pronounced notes of warm peaches, baking bread, honeyed pears and baking spices. Medium-bodied, it is wonderfully fresh in the mouth with a satiny texture and great persistence.
Rating: 92+
Full-bodied and flavorful, white Rhône blends originate from France’s Rhône Valley. Today these blends are also becoming popular in other regions. Typically some combination of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier form the basis of a white Rhône blend with varying degrees of flexibility depending on the exact appellation. Somm Secret—In the Northern Rhône, blends of Marsanne and Roussanne are common but the south retains more variety. Marsanne, Roussanne as well as Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picpoul and Ugni Blanc are typical.
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.