Winemaker Notes
Color: Inky bright crimson with a dark centre and a youthful edge.
Nose: Black cherries, dark fruits of the forest and hints of cassis & spice.
Palate: Full bodied wine with a velvety mouth feel. Dark berry characters, spice box and liquorice mingle on the palate. Enjoy over the next 5-8 years
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2006 Stonehorse Shiraz was aged for 15 months in a mix of new and used French and American oak. A saturated purple color, it emits an enticing aromatic array of balsam wood, spice box, blueberry, and black cherry. Dense and rich on the palate, it has the structure and fruit to evolve for 1-2 years and should be in its prime from 2010 to 2018.
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Wine Spectator
Smooth and velvety, with dusky tobacco nuances to the ripe blackberry and spice flavors, gliding nicely on a sleek frame. Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvèdre. Drink now through 2016. 10,000 cases made. –HS
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.