Winemaker Notes
Prior to the 1998 debut vintage, the Wolf Blass winemakers identified a number of vineyards as worthy of the ‘Platinum Vineyard' status. The key characters demonstrated by these vineyards are intensity of colour, concentration of fruit flavour, an elegant, balanced structure and long, fine tannins.
The 2004 Wolf Blass Platinum Label Shiraz is a deep purple in colour with lifted, spicy, fragrant aromas and notes of ripe berries and dark chocolate. The concentrated palate boasts layered flavours of blackberry, freshly ground coffee, spice and integrated oak. This is a seamless, velvety wine, rich and intense with excellent palate length and fine long tannins.
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.