Winemaker Notes
Ironheart is the flagship Shiraz from their single vineyard estate at the northern edge of McLaren Vale. The vineyard’s cooler climate and sandy ironstone soils produce Shiraz with immense concentration and finesse.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Matured in 35% new French oak, the 2018 Ironheart Shiraz adds subtle vanilla and cedar elements to a roaring noseful of blueberries and spice. Full-bodied and concentrated, it's supple and rich on the palate, with a texture somewhere between velvet and silk—velour, perhaps? Marked by mouthwatering acidity on the lengthy finish, it's a balanced, finely proportioned wine that should age effortlessly for at least 10–15 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
In this warmer vintage than the previous one, the inherent power of Ironheart has returned. But it hasn't lost its elegance or flavor depth. Waves of heady aromas—first fresh blueberries and satsuma plums, then wildflowers, scrubby Aussie bush and roasting herb notes—fill the senses. The palate offers chiseled tannins that juxtapose crunchy fruit. Both polished and rustic, this wine is highly expressive of place and variety. Drink now with roast lamb or grilled vegetables, or cellar until 2040.
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Wine & Spirits
Peter Fraser and Michael Lane rely on a gravelly outcrop of ironstone in the midst of their sandy soils to farm their flagship shiraz. In 2018, that parcel gave a wine of sunny intensity and athletic grace, its mineral power resonating within the frame of the oak tannins, its fruit continuing to gain layers of freshness over the course of days. Panelists described the wine’s complexities before turning back toward its fruit, which ranges from “black currant pastilles” to “plum leather and blueberry leather,” before the fresher elements of those fruits come forward with air. A great vintage of Ironheart, this should age for decades.
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James Suckling
Aromas of terra cotta, blueberry, rose hip and iron, as well as an earthy, sanguine edge. The palate has intense red-plum flavors and assertively powerful and long tannins. Very focused and contained. Drink over the next 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.”
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.