Smythe Road Vintners
Below are the Tasting Notes compiled by our winemakers. These notes relate to the currently available vintages of Smythe Road wines.
2004 PURE BAROSSA SHIRAZ
2004 vintage will rate as one of the classics with a long cool ripening period and no rain which allowed for perfect flavour concentration and no disease problems.
The berry size was very small due the little rain which occurred during the growing period and as a consequence crop size was reduced to a level of 1.75 tonnes per acre.
All these factors have produced one of Smythe Road's best shiraz.
This wine is inky black in colour, A strong spicy fruit aroma is balanced with rich dark fruit cake characters. There is an underlying sweet toasty aroma from the hand selected oak barrels. These aromas flow strongly through the palate giving great length and weight to the wine. Soft firm tannins show the effect of the 2004 vintage and are well offset by the volume of fruit flavour and structure, allowing this wine to age with confidence and grace.
2005 PURE BAROSSA SHIRAZ
The Stonewell region of the Barossa is renowned for producing complex wines of intense fruit character.
During above average heat conditions of vintage 2005, the Shiraz vines of this single vineyard worked hard to yield less than 2 tonnes of grapes to the acre. This low yield produced a wine of enhanced richness and increased complexity.
This wine has deep inky black colour and a typically spicy fruit aroma, which is complimented with soft vanilla aromas coming from the hand selected oak barrels.
The winemaking has focused on maximum retention of flavour and individual vineyard character. The palate is rich with fruit and spice characteristics that stay the journey giving great length of flavour balanced with elegant tannins that give structure and style to this vintage.
The 2005, like previous Smythe Road vintages will age with integrity and much reward.
2006 EDEN VALLEY PINOT GRIS
Sourced from two vineyards, approximately two kilometres apart in the high country of Eden Valley. The soil type is known as grey-brown podzolic, and is very ancient in nature, and relatively infertile. One vineyard has much more gravel and quartz reef material through it, while the second is more alluvial in nature.
The fruit was fully ripened to 14.5 deg baume, resulting in a finished wine of 14% alcohol.
The wine - pale gold in colour, which will deepen towards the end of the first twelve months. A soft, rich, mouth-filling wine with a lively flavour and flowing nature. This textural feel on the tongue is quite pronounced and rewarding with pear-like flavour. A lower acidity gives a full finish with considerable softness.
The wine itself is quite dry and has remarkable fruitiness in the mid palate, which comes totally from the vineyards in which it is grown, rather than from any residual sweetness. The aroma is that of freshly cut ripe green pears, perhaps rose petal and apple perfume.
We particularly recommend this Pinot Gris to those who enjoy wines of size and finesse. Its rewarding nature is quite remarkable, and is particularly suited across a wide range of international dishes.
It has the potential to age for quite some time, and we believe the consumer will be rewarded in the years 2009-2010. The wine will continue to deepen in a golden colour, while remaining fresh and fruity because of the excellent seal provided by the screw cap. A wine of considerable presence, size and reward.