Winemaker Notes
Pairs with sirloin steak, veal chops, chocolate fondue, fruit cake.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Dense and chewy, but after an initial hit this backs off to let the gorgeous smoke-tinged black cherry, mulberry, dried tomato and tomato leaf flavors emerge at an almost leisurely pace. There is a sense of refinement under the raw power, and the expressive finish holds on. Drink now thru 2018
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2009 Carnival of Love is 100% Shiraz coming from a single vineyard of 9 year old vines and matured in 97% new and 3% one year American oak. Very deep garnet-purple colored, it gives intense creme de cassis, vanilla, spice, mocha and licorice notes. Crisp and firmly structured with a high level of grainy tannins, this is a full-bodied, powerful Shiraz with a great deal of ripe dense fruit giving very good persistence. It finishes seriously spicy and just a little hot. Consider drinking this one 2012 to 2019+.
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.