Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Readers looking for a winery that unleashes a hedonistic style should check out the 2000 Shiraz Duck Muck (200 cases). This is Shiraz at its ripest and headiest (16% alcohol). Lavishly wooded (100% high toast new oak is employed), it boasts an unevolved, sweet, layered, explosively full-bodied personality. This thrilling, hedonistic effort pushes Shiraz to the limit. It falls somewhere between an over-the-top Shiraz and a late-harvest offering. Extremely pure and concentrated, it is the type of wine that does not exist anywhere except South Australia. Drink it over the next 10-15+ years. Unique!
Though Syrah originated in the Rhône Valley of France, Australia is home to the oldest Syrah (called Shiraz here) vines on the planet. Found in Australia’s Barossa Valley, where phylloxera has never threated viticulture, these ancient vines are between 140 to 175 years old!
Having brought fame and merit to the country’s wine scene since the early 1950s, namely via the debut of Penfolds Grange, today Syrah (Shiraz) claims rank as the most widely planted grape in Australia. In fact, the amount of land dedicated to Shiraz in Australia is now almost equivalent to what it is in France. Australian Shiraz has its own personality with flavors and aromas of intense blackberry, fruitcake, menthol, tobacco leaf and umami. Conveniently one can find great Australian Shiraz at a variety of price points but the very best will be dense, gloriously complex and capable of long aging.