Ranked #11 of 22 2008 Shiraz from Beechworth
88/100
3.5 Stars
Huon Hooke
Medium dark red, faint purple. Rather forward appearance. Toasty nutty, oak veneer over earthy, smoky, nutmeg-spic and peppery, savoury fruit of good concentration, depth and length. Slightly graphitey taste. Doesn't show much fruit depth. A touch of pea-poddy stressed-vine character. Liked this less and less. Disappointing.
Tasted: 29/06/2010
Drink: N/A
94 Points Robert Parker
From fruit sourced from their partner Graham Warner’s vineyard about 3.5 kilometers down the road, the 2008 Warner Vineyard Shiraz is co-fermented with about 1.5% Roussanne. The grapes get a bit of a cold soak before the fermentation begins naturally with a 3-4 week maceration period on skins. “We’re aiming to make wines with tannins and backbone without overly sweet fruit,” Rick explained as we tasted. Deep garnet-purple in color, this wine has intense aromas of crushed blackberries, violets, red roses, red licorice, black pepper, some game / hung meat, allspice and mocha. With medium-high acid and a high level of very fine tannins, this concentrated yet elegant, medium to full-bodied Shiraz has a long spicy finish. Cellar it for another year or two and enjoy it through 2020+.
Source: Robert Parker (Robert Parker Wine Advocate) by Lisa Perrotti-Brown. June, 2010