Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The nose is lifted and perfumed, with fruit-driven aromas of blackcurrants, licorice, sweet spices and cured meat. The palate is medium- to full-bodied with finely integrated tannins, focused acidity and notes of wild blackberries, blood plums, ferric earth, mocha and dried herbs. Wonderfully balanced and structured, with 50% whole-bunch fermentation.
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Australian Wine Companion
Leaner, lighter and fresher than what I recall, although picked later than usual. A cool and attenuated year, more Euro of styling, the platform. Real vibrato! Satsuma plum, lilac, Bing cherry, star anise and clove meld with white pepper, cedar and vanillin-framed tannins that drive proceedings long. Savvy bunch and oak assemblage confer poise and authority. Classy, while needing time to shed the oak cladding.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Shiraz is ever the silky, svelte wine, never more than in this elegant, restrained vintage. It has cool, mineral detail overlaid by bright blue fruits and exotic spice. The tannins are very fine and serve to shape the fruit rather than intrude. It is perfumed, supple and seamless. It has by far the best concentration and complexity of all the vintages tasted here today (2015-2021). It has notes of raspberry, mulberry, licorice, beetroot, cranberry and redcurrant as well as white pepper, clove and star anise. Lovely wine here! It has sweet oak and is perfumed and shapely. Good! 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
Rating: 93+ -
Wine Spectator
Tangy maraschino cherry, raspberry- and clove-infused notes of blood orange create a juicy, sleek frame, with hints of chai tea, pepper and gingerbread. Drink now. 300 cases imported.
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.”
A narrow band of hills and valleys east of the city of Adelaide, the Adelaide Hills region is a diverse landscape featuring a variety of microclimates. In general it is moderate with high-altitude areas cooler and wetter compared to its warmer, lower areas.
Piccadilly Valley, the part of Adelaide Hills closest to the city, was first staked out by a grower named Brian Croser, in the 1970s for a cool spot to grow Chardonnay, then uncommon in Australia. Today a good amount of the Chardonnay goes to winemakers outside of the region.
Producers here experiment with other cool-climate loving aromatic varieties like Pinot Gris, Viognier and Riesling. Charming sparkling wine is also possible. On its north side, lower, west-facing slopes make full-bodied Shiraz.