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De Bortoli Yarra Valley Reserve Syrah 2005 I love this wine but it is pushing the style envelope so far that it needs an international stamp! It is unusual for an Australian shiraz to include about 40% whole bunches but it works well here and I think it adds authority to the wine. Respect my Authorita! Aromas of blackcurrant, raspberry, dark cherry, spice, pepper, game, a hint of capsicum, stalks and pencilly oak. A riot of smells. On the palate just a fraction over medium bodied with blackcurrant, cherry, meat, spice and vanilla flavours. Firm lightly sappy tannins with a fine emery board texture and refreshing balanced acidity. Finishes very long with a slight (but attractive) stalky character. It even gained weight and complexity after being open for a day. It’s a wine that pushes local boundaries and all the right buttons. Controversial perhaps? I find it engaging and ultra-stylish. Drink : 2010 - 2020 95 Points Gary Walsh, Winorama I opened this up and let it sit for a few hours before coming back to it. For me it is the pick of the De Bortoli Reserve releases. A stunningly varietal and pure Syrah that has the hallmarks to age gracefully for many years to come. The nose is characteristed by black cherries, spice, mulberry, touches of licorice and spice. The palate is supremely balanced with plenty of dark fruits, spice and a core band of fine grained tannins running through the palate. A stunning wine. 95 points Anthony D'Anna A world away from the common impression of Australian shiraz. Bear in mind that I'm talking about a shiraz, but this is minerally, flinty, almost steely on the finish, the whole package rammed tight with tannin and ground spice and bright, dark, cherried fruit. There are notes too of star anise, sap, cinnamon, twigs and smoke, and for distinctiveness in the Australian context it has to be tasted to be believed. It is a Burgundy-styled syrah, in need of ten years in the cellar. Drink: 2013-3020. 94 points. Cambell Mattinson, The Winefront Of all the philosophical changes that we’ve made, the understanding of our soil and vineyards is probably the most important. Our primary goals are provenance, detail and texture in wine from the land we cultivate. We are fortunate enough to have some of the oldest plantings in the Yarra Valley dating back to 1971, with varieties and sites that are genuinely interesting and worthy of release as individual vineyard wines. This third release of Reserve wines is the most exciting so far. The Chardonnay is more minerally and leaner than ever. The Pinot Noir reaches some new heights in potential for longevity, and some quite unique characters and tannins have been extracted from the use of whole bunches in Syrah. 2005 was a very good vintage. We had good rain early on and saw excellent development of fruit fl avours at lower sugar levels. Summer was cool and moist until early January with dry cool conditions prevailing until picking. In each of the three wines, we have tried to preserve the detail refl ective of site and season. Fruit is Estate Grown at our Dixons Creek vineyard in the Northern part of the Yarra Valley. Fruit is picked at between 13.0 - 14.0 degrees Baume. Shiraz is trellised to Scott Henry training system to maximise clour, flavour and ripeness. Fruit is destemmed to open fermenters with 25% whole bunches and is cold soaked and fermented on skins for 14 - 18 days. Both plunging and pumping over were adopted to give maximum . avour with gentle extraction. All parcels were fermented to dryness. Maturation was completed for 10 months in new and used French oak puncheons and hogsheads. The resultant wines are racked and matured for 10 months in 25% New French oak and 75% 1, 2 and 3 year old French puncheons and hogsheads before blending and bottling. Bouquet Complex dark fruit aroma with white pepper and spice. Palate The palate is rich and textured with layers of plum, spice and black olive Vintage Conditions 2005 was a very good vintage. We had good early rain and saw excellent development of fruit flavours at lower sugar levels. Summer was cool and moist until early January and dry cool conditions prevailed until picking. Fruit Selection Syrah is sourced from the original 1971 plantings which are oriented to the West in a N-S row orientation. Fruit is hand picked and delivered to the winery in 8kg buckets. Winemaking Fruit is hand sorted and a combination of whole bunches and destemmed fruit is carefully tipped in 2x 4.5 tonne open fermenters. The fruit undergoes natural fermentation with the occasional plunge toward the end of fermentation. Maturation After 18 days on skins the wine is pressed, settled overnight and gravity filled to barrel where it matures peacefully at 16°C for 10 months. The wine is then racked by gravity and filled to bottle without fining or filtration. Cellaring This is a detailed ‘Old World Style’ Syrah that will reward mid to long term cellaring. Suggested Cuisine Rare Aged Riverina Angus Beef