Winemaker Notes
The Nose, coming from a very good year, upon release this wine is very restrained and elegant. Spicy red fruits, subtle char and pepper with underlying charcuterie, grilled meats and soft mocha and vanillin.
A burst of juicy red fruits on the early palate that remains throughout. As the fruit builds the mocha notes become more prevalent and finally the firm but fine tannins kick in and hold the palate together, balanced with subtle vanillin oak.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Focused, juicy and vibrant, with raspberry, blackberry and pomegranate flavors, weaving in hints of violet, slate and loamy earth as the finish takes off smartly. Offers depth and intensity, without much weight. Best from 2012 through 2020.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep purple-black in color, the 2009 Lily's Garden Shiraz gives ripe, expressive notes of blueberry pie, blackberry preserves and warm mulberries with hints of prunes, chocolate and licorice. Very full bodied and voluptuous on the palate, the generous flesh is well supported by a medium to firm level of grainy tannins and crisp acid, finishing long with lingering anise and dried berry notes. Delicious now, it should keep to 2017.
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.”
Known for opulent red wines with intense power and concentration, McLaren Vale is home to perhaps the most “classic” style of Australian Shiraz. Vinified on its own or in Rhône Blends, these hot-climate wines are deeply colored and high in extract with signature hints of dark chocolate and licorice. Cabernet Sauvignon is also produced in a similar style.
Whites, often made from Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc tend to be opulent and full of tropical, stone and citrus fruit.