Tar & Roses 'The Rose' Shiraz 2018 - Heathcote, Australia

96/100 - Gourmet Traveller Wine Review

95/100 - Huon Hooke

93/100 - The Wine Front (2014 vintage)

97/100 - Tony Key (2010 vintage)

93/100 - James Halliday (2009 vintage)

Top-rated Shiraz - Gourmet Traveller Wine Review of Victorian Shiraz

The Wine Front – "Easy shiraz to like. Well flavoured, a bit of spunk, fresh fruit and just generally more-ish. Black cherries, plums, peppercorns and vanilla. A slip of creaminess but really it’s the fruit holding the floor. One glass and you’re definitely up for a second. Lick of anise doesn’t hurt either. Good stuff."

James Halliday "one of the more interesting new arrivals on the Australian winemaking scene"

Natalie Maclean "Draws you right into the glass! Mint and blackberries mingle seductively on the nose. Full-bodied, juicy and delicious. Smooth. Yum!" (2016 vintage)

The Real Review "Narelle King’s flagship Shiraz is a stand-out; full-bodied, deep and fleshy with a bright spice, plum and blackberry bouquet and flavour. Fine-grained, supple tannins. The texture is a feature. Stacks of charm and ageing potential." (2014 vintage)

The Winemaker "Classic central Victorian Shiraz blend, replete with sweet black cherry, blood plum and liquorice characters. As with previous vintages, the grapes come from two main vineyards, one off the deep red Cambrian soil, the other from the tougher more gravelly ground. The first gives us rich, chocolatey and earthy flavours whilst the other has more highly fragrant notes with good acid and sweet fruit. The wine that results is our take on Heathcote shiraz."

The original Tar & Roses team of famed Don Lewis and Narelle King began their winemaking journey in Priorat, Spain, immersing themselves within the classic Mediterranean wine regions and varietals. This sparked an interest in how these varietals could be grown and made back home in their native regions of Central Victoria, Australia. Don, now passed was one of Australia's legendary winemakers earning the highest honour of winemaking in Australia, the prestigious Jimmy Watson award.

James Halliday "Tar & Roses produces wines inspired by the classic Mediterranean varietals and was named after the signature characteristics of Nebbiolo. The name also ties back to the winemaking team behind the venture, the legendary Don Lewis and his winemaking partner Narelle King. Narelle is carrying on the Tar & Roses tradition after Don's passing in 2017"

Tar & Roses style of wines reflects the multi-region of Spain, Italy and Australia, as well as traditional winemaking alongside the new. All Tar & Roses wines are made using fruit grown in Heathcote, Strathbogie Ranges, Alpine Valley, King Valley and Priorat, Spain.

Heathcote is a prestigious wine region in Central Victoria. Shiraz is the unchallenged king of Heathcote wines, making world-class, award-winning wines characterized by their rich and deep aroma profile, a dark, almost inky colour, ripe, velvety tannins and an amazingly long finish.

Shiraz is the name given to the dark-skinned Syrah grape when grown in Australia and selected pockets of the New World. Though genetically identical, the stylistic differences between Shiraz and Syrah are usually pronounced.

Shiraz is so important to Australian viticulture that it is the most planted grape variety in the majority of Australian vineyards and has become virtually synonymous with the country's wine regions, and in particular the Barossa Valley.