Winemaker Notes
Deep ruby, purple in colour, quickly revealing inviting creamy dark berry fruit aromas. Whilst these fruit aromas show depth and intensity, they also have a vibrancy and brightness. On the palate, a smooth mouth-filling attack of layered dark plums, blackcurrant and chocolate notes is surrounded by a super fined tannin frame. This ensures a genuine sense of softness and balance to the wine as it travels through the palate with the fruit presence rolling to the back end through a veiled frame.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Black olive and toasted cumin notes are aromatic and add a savory note to the licorice, plum and blackberry core. There's a fresh, juicy quality, and velvety tannins that firm up pleasantly on the finish. Drink now through 2027.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a plump, fruity Shiraz that many a rich red wine lover can get behind. Plump, bramble berry, black licorice root, violet and cedar lead the way, while the palate is supple and velvety in texture. Finely knit, spicy tannins hold the wine afloat,. Drink now–2028.
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 and presently the most important wine-producing region of Australia, the Barossa Valley is set in the Barossa zone of South Australia, where more than half of the country’s wine is made. Because the climate is very hot and dry, vineyard managers work diligently to ensure grapes reach the perfect levels of phenolic ripeness.
The intense heat is ideal for plush, bold reds, particularly Shiraz on its own or Rhône Blends. Often Shiraz and Cabernet partner up for plump and powerful reds.
While much less prevalent, light-skinned varieties such as Riesling, Viognier or Semillon produce vibrant Barossa Valley whites.
Most of Australia’s largest wine producers are based here and Shiraz plantings date back as far as the 1850s or before. Many of them are dry farmed and bush trained, still offering less than one ton per acre of inky, intense, purple juice.