Winemaker Notes
Soft, fleshy-textured Shiraz displaying blueberries and spice, supple tannins and stylish French oak influence.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Strongly regional, with archetypal aromas of dried fruits and ample boysenberry juxtaposed against a cooler take on iodine, violets and smoked meats. Finishes with a splash of cloves, dried herbs and a peppery trail of freshness. A little hard, to be churlish. At best there is expertise reining in tendencies toward excess with a clench of reduction and the sense of tension and freshness that it promotes when done well.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Signature Series McLaren Vale Shiraz leads with sweetly seductive purple fruit and a chorus of fine tannins in the mouth. There's not a lot of back-palate thrust or drive here, but the fruit is so upfront gorgeous that this will be consumed within its first week at home and done so with gusto. It's not complex but juicy and pleasurable.
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.