Winemaker Notes
#97 Wine Enthusiast Top 100 of 2020
Soft, fleshy-textured Shiraz displaying blueberries and spice, supple tannins and stylish French oak influence.
Professional Ratings
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Robert Oatley Signature Shiraz is bright and sassy. TASTING NOTES: This wine brings savory spices, ripe and black fruits, and a note of herbs onto the palate. Serve it with a well-seasoned lamb stew. (Tasted: August 3, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
-
Decanter
Ripe, juicy and fruit-forward, brimming with dark brambly fruit, a dash of mocha and savoury herbal undertones. Well-integrated tannins, subtle oak and balancing acidity deliver both muscle and finesse to the fresh, structured palate.
-
Wine Enthusiast
The Oatley reds are often tightly wound, even austere, at first. But give this wine time in a glass or decanter and it becomes a much more vibrant and elegant drop. Plums, brambly berries, dark chocolate and licorice are backed by earthy, savory spices. Power and elegance play together, wound by dusty, savory tannins. The oak gets a touch bitter at the finish, but overall this is a balanced and restrained bottling. Drink now–2027.
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.