Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Claret-like in weight, this is an old-fashioned style of shiraz, fermented in open-top oak vats and aged in 100-year-old barrels made of French oak. Mature and savory, with baking spice scents of mace and concentrated, meaty tannins, this is a smoky red to pour with roast lamb loin.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2012 Shiraz puts forth youthfully subdued notes of red and black currants, mulberries and blackberries with hints of black peppercorns, tree bark and bacon. Medium-bodied, it gives an elegant expression of this grape with earthy nuances coming through in the long, velvety finish.
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.”
Nestled into the tip of its southeastern coastline, Victoria is Australia’s smallest mainland state, second most populous and third largest wine producer. Victoria includes the cool regions of Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and Geelong, made famous mainly by impressive Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The more inland Heathcote and Bendigo lead the way for complex and textured, full-bodied reds. Rutherglen’s fortified wines compete among the best on the planet.