Winemaker Notes
Lifted aromatics of black and blue fruits such as blackberry, blueberry compote and milk chocolate, with graphite and mineral like complexity from granite and schist soils in the Eden Valley. The full-bodied and silken textured mouthfeel exhibits plushness of fruit along with mouth coating ripe Shiraz tannins that are full yet soft. The oak is barely noticeable and will give way after a year or two in bottle to its density and freshness of fruit.
Serve with steak frites, Texas BBQ ribs, or Char Siu pork.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 The Struie is 100% Shiraz from both the Barossa (57%) and the Eden Valley (43%), and it matured for 18 months in French oak (20% new). The proportion of Eden Valley inclusion is usually around 25%, but in 2019, it was down to 10% due to the very low yields. So, this 2021 Struie is blue-fruited on the nose, with blueberry, licorice, black tea, crushed rocks, summer raspberry, layers of campfire embers and clove. It might be that in many of the tasting notes from 2021, that the wines outperform previous vintages. This is because the cool season was long, so great ripeness was achieved, without the stress or impact of heat events and disease. It's a lovely, lovely year that has made wines with freshness and intensity. The tannins through the finish here are savory and fine and black.
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James Suckling
This is fantastic with blackberries, peaches, and limes with some spice character. Graphite. Medium body. Fine and polished tannins with a fantastic deep silk texture and a long finish.
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Wine Spectator
There's an appealing sense of restraint and balance to this red, with plenty of powerful notes of huckleberry, boysenberry and blueberry at the core, backed by more refined details of dried lavender, white pepper, gingerbread and Earl Grey tea. Shavings of dark chocolate and accents of clove linger on the long finish, gaining momentum. Shiraz. Drink now through 2033.
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Wine Enthusiast
This inky Shiraz is ripe and plush with densely packed aromas of plum, black cherry, ground pepper and graphite with some toasty oak on display. It’s a teeth-staining wine that oozes ripe, luscious dark fruit, framed in savory tannins. Still young and quite primary, this should cellar nicely for at least a decade.
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.