Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Imagine a blender filled with fresh-picked blackberries. This smells and tastes like those berries after they've been pureed, as vibrant as it is soft and juicy. Added to that gentle, smooth feel, there's a hint of meatiness giving the wine extra power and complexity.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Merino Syrah is an un-oaked Syrah that has a Northern Rhone feeling, with a special brightness and a wild side – slightly rustic, with aromas of smoked bacon, violets and hints of black olives. The palate is sharp and clean with very fine tannins and great freshness.
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.”
Part of the Coquimbo region and a key location for pisco production, the Limari Valley is one of the northern most wine producing regions of Chile. The other two, also part of Coquimbo, are the Elqui and less-developed Choapa Valleys. While more vineyard area is dedicated to pisco production (via the grapes of Muscat of Alexandria, Pedro Jimenez, Moscatel de Asturia and Torontel), the acreage under vine for still wine production has increased. The intense sunlight in the Limari Valley, coupled with little rainfall as well as the cooling effect of the Humboldt Current from the Pacifc Ocean, all make the area ideal for cool climate grapes like Chardonnay and Pinot noir.