Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Cliff Edge is a selection of young-vine estate fruit and purchased grapes from growers with small parcels in the Grampian Hills. When this hits in a vintage like 2004, it produces a facinating wine, this one a steal at $19. The facinating aroma of game, meaty blood sausage, black peppercorns and paprika could only come from Australia. There's blueberry and cranberry fruit, but it's the racy acidity, the silky texture and cool, savory spice of the finish that make the strongest impression. It's a botle of rough-hewn Aussie elegance to decant for grilled game birds.
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.”
Nestled into the tip of its southeastern coastline, Victoria is Australia’s smallest mainland state, second most populous and third largest wine producer. Victoria includes the cool regions of Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and Geelong, made famous mainly by impressive Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The more inland Heathcote and Bendigo lead the way for complex and textured, full-bodied reds. Rutherglen’s fortified wines compete among the best on the planet.