Winemaker Notes
Pairs well with a hearty meat and game dishes.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This doesn't appear to be the strongest recent vintage of this wine, but it remains a benchmark for McLaren Vale Shiraz. Hints of vanilla and tobacco leaf add nuance to a mix of berries ranging from red raspberry to black currant, but there's also a hint of bruised fruit and a green toughness to the tannins. Give it some time in the cellar. Drink 2020–2030.
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Wine Spectator
Peppery up front, with savory and cedar accents amid dense, gripping tannins and black licorice—scented blackberry and espresso flavors. Drink now through 2030.
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.”
Known for opulent red wines with intense power and concentration, McLaren Vale is home to perhaps the most “classic” style of Australian Shiraz. Vinified on its own or in Rhône Blends, these hot-climate wines are deeply colored and high in extract with signature hints of dark chocolate and licorice. Cabernet Sauvignon is also produced in a similar style.
Whites, often made from Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc tend to be opulent and full of tropical, stone and citrus fruit.