Winemaker Notes
RunRig often draws comparison with the beautifully fragrant and tautly structured wines from the steep slopes of the Northern Rhône Valley's Appellation of Côte Rôtie.
Shiraz from old dry grown Barossa vineyards is blended with Viognier, complementing the strengths and complexities of these individual parcels of fruit, whilst giving the resulting wine a further dimension.
Although wonderfully aromatic, RunRig also exhibits a power and latent richness making it more akin to the hugely concentrated wines sourced from the sun drenched hill of Hermitage – the historic home of Syrah and some of the world’s most powerful and longest living wines.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 RunRig is an impossibly bright and vibrant wine, with intense power and structure to match the impermeable fruit. Not much more can be said of this wine other than that it came from a magnificent vintage that experienced healthy winter rains in the lead up to the growing season and dry conditions throughout the growing season. The wines have been lauded, and in the case of a wine like this, it is evident why. Like the 2018 vintage, you could drink this anytime, but one would counsel patience. 15% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.
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James Suckling
Lifted and aromatic with deeply brooding aromas of blood plums, blackberries, cured meat, citrus rind, potpourri, violets and iodine. The palate is full-bodied with firmly integrated tannins and finely focused acidity, giving notes of mocha, mulberries, olive tapenade and black pepper. Wonderfully balanced, with a seamless texture and a never-ending finish. Excellent. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
A wonderfully fruit-forward red, showing ripe black cherry, apricot and framboise notes up front, with details of chicory, singed palo santo and dark chocolate–covered salted caramel. The tannins are plush and open knit, with a juicy quality and a softness that makes this immensely drinkable. Shiraz and Viognier.
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.