SubRosa 2021 Grampians Viognier
Erin Larkin
Robert Parker Wine Advocate 92This 2021 Grampians Viognier is a classic example of the effusive outpouring of flowers and apricots that Viognier is capable of. It is like peach and apricot essence on the nose, and a quick glance at the alcohol explains why this expressive, rambunctious nature may be so: 14.5%. Ripe. In the mouth, it is everything that the nose has promised, with the most authentic display of apricot jam, outside of, well, apricot jam. Impressive. With a bit of citrus rind and brine to go with, this is plump, billowing and quite delicious.
Drink date: 2022 – 2027
Huon Hooke
The Real Review 94Light, bright yellow hue leads into a creamy, talcy, nutty, savoury barrel-fermented style of bouquet, wheaty/mealy and quite complex. The spice/apricot fruit is a little hidden just now. In the mouth, it’s intense and medium-full bodied, with richness and roundness typical of this grape. Long, resonating finish. Very good, but it could benefit from another year to tone down the oak.
SubRosa 2019 Pyrenees Nebbiolo
Huon Hooke
The Real Review 91 pointsSubRosa 2019 Malakoff Estate Pyrenees Shiraz
Huon Hooke
The Real Review 95 pointsDeep colour and aromas of fresh-turned earth, plum, spices and overtones of graphite and ironstone. The wine is intense and focused, taut and precise on the tongue. Lovely wine of real concentration and focus, drive and elegance, the stony mineral theme running throughout. A ripping shiraz, great to drink now and has a bright future. 18 DEC 2022
Drink: 2022–2034
Top rank, #1 in 2019 Shiraz from the Pyrenees
SubRosa 2019 Grampians Pyrenees Shiraz
Huon Hooke
The Real Review 91 pointsDeep colour; aromas of fresh-turned earth and plum and a whiff of star anise. Medium-full bodied shiraz with supple tannins and excellent balance. Good early drinking shiraz which will also keep well.
Drink: 2022–2031
SubRosa 2018 Pyrenees Nebbiolo
Jeni Port
Halliday Wine Companion 93 pointsMalakoff Estate vineyard, 16 months’ maturation in French oak, 12 months in bottle before release. Attractive rose petal, Turkish delight, black cherry, leafy aromas. Brambly spice, chewy fruit on the palate, but time in oak is also apparent, delivering a varnish character which together with savoury tannins completes a pretty complex nebbiolo picture. Give it time in the cellar.
Huon Hooke
The Real Review 92Light ruby-red colour with a nice tinge of purple in the rim, and a youthfully reserved bouquet that whispers rather than shouts, of dried herbs, red cherries and sweet raspberry. The tannins are fine and gentle without losing their essential grip. The wine is medium-bodied at most and easy to enjoy young, especially if served with protein. Quite lovely, like a pinot with tannin.
SubRosa 2018 Grampians Shiraz
Huon Hooke
The Real Review 96 pointsDeep, rich, bright colour, with a smoky-char and earthy-ironstone shiraz nose, surprisingly complex for its years and savoury, the palate likewise supple, mellow, savoury and multi-layered. Toasty, pepper-spicy, the palate elegantly crafted and refined, with a core of fruit sweetness and finishing with lovely balance and completeness. Harmony and charm. A really superb shiraz, and great value.
Jeni Port
Halliday Wine Companion 90 pointsSourced from a vineyard in Great Western and matured for 16 months in French oak barriques. Appealing aromatics with floral, raspberry, dry leaves and a green edginess. Firm across the palate and fine in fruit density boasting, red cherry, baking spices, a hint of pepper and mocha oak. A taut, well tannined shiraz.
Drink by: 2027
SubRosa 2017 Monseigneur Grampians Cabernet Sauvignon
Hand-picked fruit from Great Western, matured for 16 months in French oak. 70 dozen made. Blackcurrant, green herb and a touch of mint/eucalypt on the bouquet. It’s ripe and solid in flavour through the palate and with good length, the tannin mostly unobtrusive but providing some grip on the finish. A bit more bottle age will only do it good.
Drink by: 2030
SubRosa 2016 Malakoff Estate Pyrenees Shiraz
Mike Bennie
The Winefront 95 pointsI could have accepted this release as ‘SubRosa Syrah 2016’, but no, no, this is Shiraz with a capital ‘S’ from Malakoff Vineyard in Pyrenees. Adam Louder, winemaker, knows his turf. Anyway, if you haven’t cottoned onto SubRosa, you should. You’ll be thanking yourself down the trail when these start commanding higher prices and generally being difficult to find. No doubt.
Svelte, seamless, succulent wine. Dark cherry, sarsaparilla, lavish spice scents, with all this doubling back into the palate. It slips softly over the palate leaving a slick of that spice and blackcurrant fruit character, with tannins just gently holding shape. If you like ‘syrah’, let’s say, with some concentration, this is excellent.
Rated: 95 Points
Alcohol: 14.2%
Closure: Screwcap
Drink: 2018 – 2030
Reviewed: 21 December, 2018
James Halliday
2020 Wine Companion 95 pointsHand-picked, matured for 16 months in French oak, only 80 dozen made. The colour is much lighter than expected, and it’s on the lighter side of medium-bodied – but it’s well balanced, expressing its variety and region, its fruit spicy and juicy. And yes, it’s a great drink.
Drink by: 2031
Reviewed: March 2019
SubRosa 2015 The Aristocracy Grampians Shiraz
James Halliday
Wine Companion/The Australian, May 2018 95 pointsEstate-grown, matured for 16 months in French barriques, neither fined nor filtered. Bright in colour and light in body (by Grampians standards). Its mouthfeel, balance and studied length are on another level, with vibrant red fruits, spices and feather-light tannins.
Drink By 2030