REGION / McLaren Vale

VARIETAL / 100% Syrah

ABV / 14.5%

WINEMAKER / Scott Rawlinson

TASTING PROFILE & KEY REVIEW / A rich and intense power-house, with a compelling depth of flavour and a long, unctuous finish. Essence of blackberry and ripe plum fruit abound, giving way to undercurrents of powdered chocolate, charcuterie and licorice. Smoky oak and fine-grained tannins provide depth and structure, and enhance the ageing potential of this sumptuous wine.

“Rich and full-bodied, but with more facets than the Black Label; oak plays an obvious role and the tannins are finer; blackberry fruit does have some chocolate, but not to the extent of the Black Label. Excellent achievement for the vintage.” James Halliday’s Wine Companion 2011

VINTAGE REPORT / Optimum spring conditions had left McLaren Vale anticipating the perfect vintage, however a hot burst at the start of January brought about an early onset to vintage at the beginning of February. Fortunately a run of consistent daytime temperatures and cooler evenings through mid January to early Feb resulted in fruit achieving optimum flavour and tannin ripeness, and all fruit was safely harvested before the damaging heatwave of March.

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 (85%) and American oak, a total of 28% of which was new. 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.

  • 95 Points / JAMES HALLIDAY’S WINE COMPANION 2011