Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2005 Shiraz Reserve was aged for 18 months in 50% new American oak and 50% used French oak. Purple/magenta in color, it presents an aromatic array of pain grille, scorched earth, plum, game, and blueberry. Layered and sweet, this full-bodied Shiraz has a solid structure, superb balance, and a long, pure finish. Give it 4-6 years to blossom and drink it through 2024.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a full-bodied, firmly structured Shiraz with plummy, intense aromas tinged with licorice and framboise. Bits of chocolate, mint and spice accent the plum and raspberry flavors, and the wine finishes crisp, dry and deeply textured. It should drink well from now through 2015.
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.