EVANGELINE* {MUSEUM RELEASE} Single Vineyard Eden Valley Syrah
Hurry! Last bottles!
Single Vineyard Eden Valley Syrah from a dry-grown vineyard set on the Drögemüller family’s original Springton orchard. Highly perfumed it shows wild forest berries & white pepper aromas and a complex palate of fresh Black Berries, peppercorns and refreshing Morello cherries.
Growing conditions: Lower yields and a warm, moderate January provided an early start to our harvest in late february. A sudden rain event in early february marked a change to unseasonably mild conditions allowing us to pick vineyards at optimal ripeness without loss of natural acidity.
Winemaking notes: Fermented in a 6 tonne open fermenter with 7 days skin contact and twice daily pump-overs. Matured in shaved, seasoned (two to five year old) french oak hogsheads for 11 months.
Winemakers: Daniel Chaffey Hartwig and Theo Engela
Varietal: Syrah
Region: Eden Valley
Alc/Vol: 14.2%
pH: 3.5
Acidity: 6.5
Bottle size: 750 mL
2020
SILVER - 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards
94pts + SILVER - Abundant ripe plums and summer berry fruits, cut through with fine spice, blueberries with a whiff of vanilla and subtle, sexy French oak. There's a lovely fruit flow, some nice cool-climate crunch and a cascade of fine tannin for support. A lot to like here." - Dave Brooks, Halliday Wine Companion
93pts "Lifted, vibrant, youthful, ripe, so pure and bright. Ripe berry fruit flavours with a touch of spice. This wine has layers of complexity with savoury nuances. Will improve with time." - Decanter Wine Magazine
93pts "Serious and cool EV Shiraz. Soaking plums, darker cassis, pencilly and vanilla oak influence (in a good way), cracked peppercorns and just a little leafy kitchen herb. Mid to full bodied with lovely flow and glide to the palate. Peering focus, narrowed eye slits drawing on purple and red fruits, nuanced with cool pepper and neatly etched tannins. Calm and serene" - Regan Drew, Vino Notebook
91pts "This has aromas of dried violets, blackcurrants, cracked pepper and sage. Fresh and bright with savory and peppery layers. Medium-bodied. All nicely wrapped up in firm, fine tannins." - James Suckling
2019
GOLD MEDAL + 95pts "A modern style of shiraz with ripe but not overripe fruit with high quality oak given just enough opportunity to make its point without dominating the argument. The fruit here is dense blues and blacks, with suggestions of vanilla and cedar. It is finished with beautifully fine, ripe tannins." - Royal Adelaide Wine Show
SILVER - 2022 Sommeliers Choice Awards
93pts "It’s always good, always reliable. This 2019 release is as good as any previous, maybe even better. It’s just so juicy. Just so perfumed. Just so enjoyable. Blueberry, boysenberry, plum and clove notes meet mint, sweet spice and woodsmoke. There’s a clear jellied/jubey aspect but there’s also a good reach of tannin, with the length to match. It’s both warm and fresh-faced at once; it’s in excellent order." - Campbell Mattison, The Wine Front
91/100 "Aromas of blue fruits, red cherry, spice and a cool menthol lift. Flavours are mid to full-bodied, the fleshy, generous blueberry and dark cherry fruit flavours are round and layered, with plenty of tannin and acid-derived structure. A well-made, soft, juicy, round and very drinkable wine." - Aaron Brasher, The Real Review
92pts "A very dark, dense colour, the nose shows lots of spice and white pepper, some quite exotic fruit and floral notes but pure and ripe blackberry and blueberry dominates. The gentle toast of the oak comes through on nose and palate, in a wine where a smooth but savoury fruit stays pliable and fresh across the mid-palate. The finish has fresh acids, very tight tannins, the oak again adding some toast in the finish" - Tom Cannavan's Wine Pages
“A lovely dark fruit character with a herbal edge to it, like a peppery gunpowder note. Gravelly tannins, a touch of sweet pastry, vanilla, nice and long, with a warmth, but the alcohol doesn’t sit outside the frame of the wine.” - Mark Pygott MW
2018
92 pts "Spice, liquorice, black fruit, sage and mint. Medium-bodied, red and black fruit, fresh, light tannin, lively, good finish. Easy to like. Affable and regional." - Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
201695/100 "Fresh plum, dry spice and dried banana-like aromas, fruit-driven and fresh, with some Rhône-ish notes. The palate has linearity and fleshy concentration, with ample soft tannins and refreshing acidity. A very appealing wine, the texture being a highlight. It drinks superbly already." - Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine, Huon Hooke
93/100 "It might be Eden Valley but using syrah on the label might raise an eyebrow. What's not in question is its drinkability. A fruit basket of berries, a raft of spices, it's juicy and so vibrant. It has tannins and acidity to ensure it'll age but gee, it's too good to wait for, so pour away." - Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion
92 pts "The Eden Valley and shiraz/syrah. A match made in heaven. Aromatic, spicy, floral, almost peppery. It doesn’t jump out of its skin but it does stand up to say hello. Plums, toast, roasted peppercorns, nuts. It unfolds as it breathes. It’s mid weight in a good way. Complex but not challenging or in-your-face. Drinkable and accessible and yet inscribed with fine tannin. The pitch, just right." - Campbell Mattison, The Wine Front
92 pts "Rich, ripe blackberry with plenty of spice and well-knit, savory elements. A rich, blackberry palate with supple, even tannins. Very approachable now. Screw cap." - James Suckling Reviews
2015
"Savoury with ripe blackberry, mocha, and spicy notes. Mouthwatering, dark fruit and fresh acidity on the finish." Decanter Wine Magazine May 2023, Drink 2023-2030
95/100 "Deepish red/purple hue, with a lifted floral aroma, clean and fresh and aromatic. The palate is similar, not big or heavy but intense and spicy, red-fruited and elegant, and finishing long on the aftertaste, with abundant firm tannins. There's lovely fruit-sweetness in the middle and a certain raspberry jam Eden Valley signature. Excellent." - Huon Hooke
93/100 "The flavour profile is sweeter than the word 'syrah' might imply but the wine's quality is never in doubt. Flavours of port wine jelly, pure plum, sweet raspberry and assorted dry/twiggy spices fill out the palate well; nutty tannin then completes the picture perfectly. Throughout the wine feels fluid and supple, making it a pleasure to spend time with." - Campbell Mattison, Halliday
92 pts "Char-grilled pepper steak, black fruits and boot polish, a whiff of dried herb. Medium bodied, meaty and savoury, with pastille and prune, grainy tannin, a slight angularity to the palate with an almost ‘metallic’ feel, though not in a bad way, I’d add, and a spicy red and black fruited finish. A wilder more bunchy style of Barossa Shiraz, but pretty nicely done." - Campbell Mattison, The Wine Front
2014
92/100 "Red berries, boysenberries, spice and violets. It has some blackberried or at least plummy depth but the wine's sheer drinkability is conjured with soft fingers of highly accessible flavour. It has the acid/tannin structure to age, and the balance, but it's hard to find a good reason not to tuck in right now." - Campbell Mattison, Halliday