Winemaker Notes
The 2017 Syrahmi Demi Shiraz is very bright crimson and purple in color. An intense perfume of lifted wild raspberries, black olives, soy and turned earth exudes from the bottle. Crushed granite, red and black cherries, graphite and gun smoke with energetic freshness and length, the palate shows the best of Heathcote with a light touch. Savory dried herbs and spice, graphite and tapenade again, with very fine tannin coming from the 80% whole bunches during ferment, balanced red fruits leading though a long savoury finish. Concentrated but light on its feet.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Victoria is chock-full of small, interesting cool climate regions with scatterings of small, interesting producers, and Adam Foster’s Syrahmi is one of them. This Shiraz sees what feels like a fair bit of whole bunch, which gives a lovely lift to the crushed rose petal, cherry bitters and vanilla bean aromas, along with adding a stalky, sarsaparilla and licorice root note. It’s medium bodied with a grip of raspy tannins, a sappy texture and the same spicy root tones as the nose. Power welded to grace, and an excellent example of cool climate Victorian Shiraz.
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.