Winemaker Notes
A deep ruby, purple hue. Alluring aromas of dark fruits, musk, dried herbs followed by smoky, earthy notes. he palate is dense and concentrated with layers of rich dark fruits, black olive tapenade and chocolate. Supported by gritty textured tannins lingering on the finish.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
From Block 6 and Block 11 on the Amery Vineyard's steep slopes, this earthy red aged 18 months in French and American oak. It's big, spiced, and muscle-bound, with teeth-grabbing dark chocolate-covered tannins.
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Australian Wine Companion
A meld of old vines from Blocks 6 and 11. Open top ferments, a relatively short time on skins and 18 months in oak, American and French. Definitively old-school, with a track record of ageability and pedigree. A fugue of palate-staining dark fruits on the attack. Licorice, malt and menthol, too. The oak, drying at this nascent state, the grape tannins, twiggy. Time should impart tone, calm and complexity.
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James Suckling
A meld of old vines from Blocks 6 and 11. Open top ferments with a relatively short time on skins and 18 months in oak, American and French. Definitively old-school, with a track record of ageability and pedigree. Palate-staining dark fruits on the attack. Licorice, malt and menthol, too. The oak is drying at this nascent state and the grape tannins are twiggy. Time should impart tone, calm and complexity.
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Wine Spectator
Offers notes of grilled cherry and plum, with a brambly wild blackberry accent, plus details of dried sage, rosemary and salted black licorice. Firmly tannic, with notes of malty Assam black tea that linger. Drink now through 2037. 3,000 cases made, 500 cases imported.
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.