Our Best Australian Shiraz

 Alan Cooper, Founder & Vigneron “Very much typical of our Syrah from a cooler year, aromatic on the nose, savoury spice and a fine dusting of black pepper to finish. The essence of granite. Focussed and expressive of our amazing terroir. The classic iron fist in a velvet glove. Huge latent power and structure to burn. This wine will reward you even more with age!”

Gourmet Traveller Wine 'Best buy wines over $30'  "It’s really hard not to think of the great syrahs of the northern Rhône (St-Joseph, Hermitage) when tasting this exceptional, nervy, peppery, thrillingly dark-fruited syrah. And even harder to ignore what great value it is in comparison to them."

Exclusive to The Vinorium

Mike Bennie, The Wine Front "Big, heady, dark and powerful red wine. Scents of clove, mint, cocoa powder, ripe plums. Supple, soft, decadent in the palate, molten tannins that pucker to close, a heady, rich, charismatic wash of chewy, dark plummy fruit, sweetness, ground nuts and cocoa powder again. A huge wine but in its stride. Good stuff."

97+ Points - Stuart McCloskey “Sourced from the Howard family Somerset Vineyard and a blend of three slopes: Eastern, Northern and Western – planted 1966, 1968, and 1970. Warm earth, dried spices, raspberry, green olives and vanilla waft from the glass. Medium-bodied, layered, elegant and immensely appealing. The tannins are super-fine and meld beautifully with the fruit, which is ripe, crunchy and juicy. I love the subtle star anise, spice, liquorice, touches of violet and toast which I imagine emanates from the French oak in which the wine rested for 16 months. Incredible length and finely polished – sensitive winemaking and will drink beautifully over the next decade. Ideally, leave this in the cellar for 3-5 years. Served in Zalto Bordeaux glassware”

Exclusive to The Vinorium 

99 Points - Stuart McCloskey “Sampled after 12 hours in the decanter. If truth be known, I struggled with this wine when it first arrived and refrained from offering my tasting note. Today, it joins the remainder of the collection as a strong family member, which has felt lost without it. Sweetness juxtaposes with savoury meatiness – a firm nod to the Northern Rhône. Heady aromas of anise, fennel seed and ink combine with the sweetest of black fruits and then comes a board of charcuterie. The length is astonishing and finishes with sweet fennel and studded salami. Wait a minute and then enters spice tinged citrus fruit with a faint tinge of blood orange… Umami, ocean-esque and sea kelp are more pronounced with aeration. To put simply, this is a contender for one of the greatest Northern Rhône wines (albeit from Oz) you will ever enjoy. Natural, unforced and certainly the longest lived ’17 Standish wine. Drinking now, but it’s a baby to 2050.” Tasted 24 Nov 2020

Exclusive to The Vinorium

94 Points - Mike Bennie  "Boozey scents, boozey flavours, but also a silkiness, glycerol of course, expected, really concentrated, sweet fruited, blackberry jam, black fruit pastille lollies, some nougat and sweet nuttiness too. Flow is sumptuous and supple, lush, incredibly flowing, with a pinch of gummy tannins long, long away. Does the job of everything in portion pretty well. Just huge."

Campbell Mattison, Wine Companion “Carbon copy of the excellent '15 release. Dark cherry-berry flavours, inlays of woodsy spices, mint and wood smoke as highlights. It's fresh, fleshy, pumped with fruit but more than a little savoury. It finishes firm and strong; it's in top form.”

Morgan Dunn, The Australian "White pepper and bold blue fruits on the nose with perhaps a nod to the northern Rhone with a bare hint of smoked meat and graphite. Dry tannins are regimental but not too serious; there’s focus and drive but the juiciness of the fruit and acidity add a playful element like sailors on shore leave."

Exclusive to The Vinorium

97 Points - Stuart McCloskey “A thrilling, single vineyard Shiraz which has been meticulously crafted by the skilled hands of Craig Stansborough. The site is around 260-280m above sea level with vines planted in 2000 and is own rooted, clones are heritage and 1654. The nose is heady and aromatically perfumed with intense black raspberry, crème de cassis, bramble and fennel seed. The warm earth notes keep it grounded (forgive the pun!) as do the cedar notes. Vanilla kicks in after many hours in the decanter (we decanted for 6). Read more...

Jay Miller (robertparker.com) "The vintage was an excellent one, not quite as exceptional as 2005, but there may be cases in which selected 2006s may eventually outshine their 2005 counterparts. All of the 2006's fell within their predicted ranges (mostly near the high end) so I will keep my comments brief. Clarendon Hills 2006 Syrahs are superb. They appear to be less structured and more forward than the 2005's and will be more approachable early on." 

  2021 Best Shiraz Wines - Wine Companion Awards

Decanter Magazine – Top 10 wineries in McLaren Vale

97 Points James Halliday "Block 6 is a 1.4ha east-facing block of 125yo vines with very complex soils. Hand-picked, crushed and destemmed, 11 days on skins, matured for 20 months in French and American puncheons (40% new). If ever there was an iron fist in a velvet glove this is it, but with one qualification: the iron fist was created by a master sculptor, the wine quite special, and fully deserving its price."

 Vinorium Award - 2019 Red Wine of the Year: Silver

99+ Points - Stuart McCloskey  “Sampled after 12 hours in the decanter. Almost nirvana on the nose and very difficult to project into words. The emotional experience overwhelms. A profusion of Indian ink, lavender, violets, vanilla, cold coal and cold stone infuse harmoniously with saturated damson, plum, mulberry and the sweetest of black raspberry. A little sweet spice unfurls in the background – think Kulfi. The palate is full bodied, richly structured and packed with the sweetest of black fruits rising to plum and anise. Minerality provides relief as does a perfectly judged line of acidity, albeit caressing in texture. Here is perfection mixed with profoundness in equal measures and this will appeal to those seeking a touch more extravagance. Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware. Drinking now, but it’s a baby to 2040+.” Tasted 24 Nov 2020