Clarendon Hills, Onkaparinga Syrah, South Australia

Rich blueberry, plum, black cherry. Lots of vanilla, baking spices, black pepper, jam, and baked fruit. Some soy sauce and prune from age. Big, bold, fruity, and dense. Like a baked fruit pie with mulled wine. Much better after a lot of air.

Upon opening it’s a tight, red fruit, jam - giving it some air, wow, a few hours later this is classic Clarendon Hills - it’s still packing the red fruit, maybe some black chiming in now, the spice, the iron and red rock, it’s got plenty of length to it, tannins and acids in balance playing their role. For an entry level Syrah, this thing is an excellent proposition 10 years in.

Decanted for 2 hours before drinking. Definitely matured over the last 12 months since my last comments. Deep garnet now. Fruit has soften up front but still with savoury mid but now almost graphite qualities and spice. Finish is much smoother and pleasant. Optimal drinking now. Wouldn’t push it much further.

Drank a few of these in the early years and found them very green. Still deep purple colour with pleasant bouquet. Brambles, dark fruit moving to olives and a savoury mid palate with some spice and a very dry lingering finish. Has matured, but was hoping for something more.

Earthy, peppery, bay, rich dark fruits, olive, brooding, savoury, powdery fine tannin, rich and thick, good back palate grip, smooth warm finish. well balanced,

Very new world to me. First scent impressions were very heavy on vanilla. Cherry, pine resin, allspice come out a bit later. It’s Syrah all right, but a modern and not terribly exciting kind of it. Tasty in a sort of generic way, undemanding. Why, then, 90 pts if it is so meh? Well, objectively speaking, it’s competently made. I am mostly reacting to the lack of differentiation to this - the single biggest complaint I have against “modern” wines. …

black fruit aroma on nose taste with some tannic at first smooth out after one week decant in bottle with cap seal balance taste after decant

Beautiful nose here with plum, dark fruit, vanilla, oak spices. The fruit is ripe but not over the top, good tannins provide a supporting frame. I think this is a nice expression of a Aussi Shiraz that does not go over board in terms of extraction. Interestingly, with global warming and the influence of the Parker palate, the base offerings often have the best balance. The more expensive you go, the more extracted the offerings get. Same for Napa Cab …

Rich cooked fruit on the nose, Christmas cake, very new world. Very rich palate, too much for my taste. Score higher if you like this style.