Winemaker Notes
Blend: 98.5% Shiraz; 1.5% Viognier
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 RunRig is silky and seamless, akin the 2010 tasted alongside. RunRig was not made in the 2011 vintage, due to the cold and wet conditions (which did suit some varieties, and some terrific wines were made). Aromatically, the wine is all about garden roses and tapenade, roasted meat and sweet summer tomatoes. This is a beautiful wine. 15.5% alcohol.
-
Wine Enthusiast
RunRig is always complex, and the 2012 doesn't disappoint in that regard, mixing bacony-meaty notes with hints of black olives and ripe plums. The tannins are supremely supple, but the acids are crisp, resulting in a long, mouthwatering finish. Drink now–2030.
-
Decanter
Founder Dave Powell singled out old vineyards principally in the north-west Barossa, where it is drier and yields are super-low. This hedonistic Shiraz Viognier has a pure velvet punch of crushed red cherry, bilberry, blackberry and raspberry fruit, with confit notes and a hint of tar alongside chocolate and oak vanillin. A raft of old vine spice and minerality brings savoury balance and, with a kick of alcohol, great gravelly, peppery resonance.
-
Wine Spectator
Big, broad and generous, this is a towering presence, layering sharply focused blackberry, dark plum, cherry and exotic spice flavors atop polished tannins. Has tremendous power and persistence. Shiraz and Viognier. Drink now through 2030. 450 cases made.
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.