Winemaker Notes
Dark opaque violet with deep crimson hue, this wine bursts from the glass a dense melange of berry fruits, dark plum, licorice, and fragrant spice. The palate displays layers of sweet fruit with creamy mocha oak, black pepper hints and superbly balanced tannins, seeming to last for an eternity.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Produced of 100% Shiraz from a single vineyard, the 2010 Carnival of Love was aged in American oak, 97% new. Very deep purple-black in color, it is intensely scented of blueberry preserves, creme de cassis and warm black cherries with an undercurrent of baking spices, licorice, mocha, vanilla, toast and eucalypt. Very full and densely packed with warm blackberry and spice flavors on the palate, it has a solid structure of medium to firm velvety tannins and very crisp acid, giving way to a very long finish. Still quite tight and primary, it should drink best 2014 to 2023+.
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Wine Spectator
Dense, rich and distinctive, this is superplush and complex, yet also approachable, wrapping its black cherry, cassis, licorice and roasted meat flavors on a supple, velvety frame. Finishes long and creamy in texture. Drink now through 2020.
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.