Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There are three “icon” wines in the portfolio. The opaque purple-colored 2006 Ares is a 100% Shiraz cuvee sourced from Barossa (77%) and McLaren Vale (23%) which received some “200% new oak” treatment. Following a barrel selection of the winery’s best Shiraz (not all of which was in new oak), the wine spent its last 12 months of elevage in 100% new French barriques. It offers up a room-filling perfume of toasty oak, pencil lead, vanilla, pepper, sage, plum, and blueberry pie. Opulent and layered on the palate, this extracted, mouth-filling effort has tons of succulent fruit, savory flavors, and a very long, fruit-filled finish. It will reward 6-8 years of cellaring and have a drinking window extending from 2015 to 2031.
97+ -
Wine Spectator
Polished and generous. A plush mouthful of cherry, blackberry and creamy spice flavors that linger effortlessly on the long, open-textured finish. There's power in this wine, but it lurks below the glassy, seamless surface, ready to grow and get more complex with aging. Shiraz. Drink now through 2020. 500 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.