REGION / McLaren Vale

VARIETAL / 100% Syrah

ABV / 15%

WINEMAKER / Scott Rawlinson

TASTING PROFILE & KEY REVIEW / Deep purple in colour. The nose shows intense complex cedar, blackberry and blueberry aromas, with a hint of peppery spice. On the palate it develops powerful, full-bodied berry fruit flavours with decidedly funky earthy notes. Restrained tannins and acidity coupled with rich alcohol produces a seamless, velvety, harmonious whole. Winemaker’s choice.

“The 2005… is a saturated purple. It presents an impressive nose of wood smoke, lavender, Asian spices, plums and blueberry that jump from the glass. Layered and opulent on the palate, it has loads of flavor, good balance, and a long fruit-filled finish.” Robert Parker, 2009

VINTAGE REPORT / A good vintage. Winter rains replenished soil moistures and allowed near perfect budburst and flowering. Mild to warm conditions over summer, reminiscent of 2002, with a few days of extreme heat resulted in generally even ripening. Rapid accumulation of sugars meant a short vintage – spectacular levels of flavour and higher than usual alcohol. Yields were down around 15% but the overall assessment was very high.

WINEMAKING / Winemaking is very traditional and labour intensive. Small batch fermentation took place in open top fermenters, following which the wine was matured for a period of 18 months in a selection of the best French and American oak. It was neither fined nor filtered so that the integrity and depth of flavour could be maintained.

HERITAGE / All fruit for The Governor comes from a single block on our family-owned 64-acre vineyard, located in the southern foothills of the McLaren Vale region. Our proximity to the ocean (situated just 2km away from the coast of the Gulf St Vincent) allows our vines to benefit from cooling sea breezes that temper the heat of our Mediterranean climate.

The Governor block is located at the top of our vineyard, where poor soil and a high clay content combine to limit water retention and allow moisture levels to be controlled through drip irrigation. These are the perfect conditions for the production of top quality Syrah, creating fruit undiluted by water – small and incredibly intense in flavour.

  • Silver (Best In Class) / IWSC 09
  • 94 Points / Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
  • 93 Points / Stephen Tanzer’s IWC 09