Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Made by Emily Laughton, whose family runs Jasper Hill, from the Conforti Vineyard in the neighboring town of Mia Mia. Grown and produced under the same biodynamic principles as Jasper Hill, it's a supple beauty in '05. The aroma is lifted, bright, spicy; the flavors are dense, cloaked in tannic richness, the tannins melting like honey from rock. My notes from the blind tasting: "The end is a bit stolid, but it remains mysterious, a little mystical, long and black." A mystical shiraz? For Easter perhaps, with roast baby lamb.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Occam's Razor is produced by Emily Laughton, a member of the family that owns Jasper Hill winery. This is the sixth vintage of this wine. The 2005 Shiraz is purple-colored with a complex perfume of cedar, spice box, meat, game and blueberry. Medium to full-bodied and elegant, this tasty Shiraz has excellent balance, ripe flavors, and enough stuffing to evolve for 2-3 years. Drink it 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.”
Historically some of Australia’s most lucrative gold country, today Heathcote maintains its esteemed reputation as a source of country’s best red wines. The rolling countryside of ancient reddish brown soils bordered by mountain ranges that funnel cool air into the region during the growing season create some of Australia’s most deeply-hued and impressively layered Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon wines.