Winemaker Notes
Luscious and concentrated fruit with deep and engaging layers of spice from the fruit and fine French oak. This all overlays across a bold and gravelly tannin structure. A frame that will yield suppleness in its longevity.
Blend: 98% Shiraz, 2% Viognier
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A restrained nose, rather than the usual yelp of excessive fruit and sweetness of the idiom. An element of mid-weighted refinement, as a result. Lilac, boysenberry and a skein of peppery freshness, towing some length. In all, a good drink for the opening act.
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Wine Spectator
This sleek and polished red features a core of dark berry and plum flavors, with notes of black pepper, candied violet and oolong tea. Plump and juicy, with firming malty Assam tea flavors providing an appealing finish. Shiraz and Viognier. Drink now through 2033. 3,300 cases made, 448 cases imported.
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Vinous
The slick 2021 Shiraz Viognier Estate offers up plush aromas of mulberry and blackberry, with a dusting of spice and fine French oak. Nice tension follows, with gentle tannins and fresh acidity providing a solid base to the flavors of dark cherry, soy sauce and Asian spices, gliding through to a solid finish.
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.”
As the most important area of wine production in Victoria today, the Yarra Valley is most popular for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, which account for over half of vineyard acreage. A gentle, rolling and rural region alongside the Margaret River, the Yarra Valley has a cool maritime climate with a lengthy growing season, perfect for these cool-climate varieties.
Two styles of Pinot Noir are possible here. The warmer Lower Yarra Valley with sandy, loam soils, produces plush and fruity Pinot Noir while the cooler, higher-elevation Upper Yarra Valley with soils of young red basalt, produces more angular and mineral-driven Pinot Noir.
Yarra Valley Chardonnay is among the best in Australia. To preserve the floral aromatics and fresh citrus flavors for which this area’s Chardonnay is so appreciated, time in barrel is restrained (though barrel fermentation is common). The best Yarra Valley Chardonnays display brilliant acidity, leesy characteristics, citrus, stone fruit and flavors of ginger and spice.
Shiraz and Cabernet find success in parts of this region as well.