Winemaker Notes
Very deep crimson with purple hues. The nose has rich dark cherries, Satsuma plum and mulberry fruits jump out of the glass, mingling with fine milk chocolate, white pepper and cinnamon. Full-bodied, mouth filling with lovely plums and cherries carried with chocolate and vanillin American oak. Balancing off the sweet fruit is firm but fine tannin and sweet and briary spices.
A perfect match - richly flavored meats, game or mature cheddars.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
A terrific value in Barossa Shiraz, Langmeil's 2008 Valley Floor bottling features bold oak-fruit styling without ever seeming jammy. It's full-bodied but not unstructured, with mulberries and toasted coconut upfront yet a fresh, savory finish framed by dusty tannins.
Editors' Choice -
Wine Spectator
Bright ruby. Spicy cherry and black raspberry on the nose, with complicating notes of incense and dried rose. Sappy and expansive, offering lively red and dark berry flavors and a late note of white pepper. Packs a lot of flavor into a lithe package and finishes with impressive clarity and spicy persistence.
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.