Giaconda tasting Notes

1999 'WARNER VINEYARD' SHIRAZ

This is the first release of Giaconda 'Warner Vineyard' shiraz, grown specifically for us by our neighbour Graeme Warner.

Deep crimson red going to magenta. Plum, prune, licorice, roasted meats, white pepper and spice provide a most complex aroma. The palate has plenty of flavour and considerable length. Rolling powder fine tannins combine with the acidity to carry the black fruits, leather, licorice and white pepper flavours. Remarkable length and weight for a wine from young vines, this will develop over the next five years into a most elegant and satisfying wine.

Neither one dimensionally cool climate, nor bold or extractive in style, Giaconda Warner Vineyard shiraz will in time add another dimension to the list of quality Australian shiraz.

2000 'WARNER VINEYARD' SHIRAZ

Black, though not inky, with flashes of magenta. A heady compote of spice, vanilla bean, violets, tobacco, sweet black plums, savoury oak with a twist or two of pepper. And so too on the palate. What you smell is what you taste. Sumptuous and yet refined, leaving a strong impression of sympathetic winemaking.

This wine has a delicious round texture with fine drying tannins that roll all the way to the back of the palate. Oak and acid play their role whilst the fruit remains the dominant feature. Powerful, intense, but deftly harnessed so that no one aspect is allowed to dominate. Undoubtedly the addition of 1½% Roussanne has added a further dimension to the aromatic appeal of this wine.

2001 'WARNER VINEYARD' SHIRAZ

Deeply coloured magenta hues: roasted meats, black olives, vanilla bean, twists of black pepper and spice and cedary oak notes. The palate is rich, rolling and full: A mirror image of the bouquet. Fine powdery tannins work their way through the wine's mid palate carrying the sweet, black, spicy fruit. The finish is dry, the tannins doing their best work at the end of the wine as a counter - balance to the rich fruit. A glorious wine, packed with flavour, and built around a structure that allows the wine to dance on the palate, rather than trudge along stomping its feet. Deft and savoury.

2002 'WARNER VINEYARD' SHIRAZ

As long as the vintages remain kind you can expect to see a continual upward progression with the Warner vineyard shiraz. Graeme Warner's tireless efforts in the vineyard have the vines working efficiently so that the fruit is fully ripe without excessively high alcohol. The wine has more complexity, power and finesse than the 2001. A combination of high maintenance viticulture and intelligent wine making. Deeply coloured almost black, blackberries, earthy characters, roasted meats, a bit of reduction in the background and a lick of vanilla, black pepper and a seductive flinty graphite-like aroma. Amazingly different!

The palate has tremendous richness, but the tensile graphite-like structure keeps the wine focused. Like the bouquet, the palate is an explosion of flavours, blackberries, leather, spices, vanilla, a snippet of toasty oak, black pepper as a seasoning all fluently pulled together by the fine grained tannins and cleansing acidity.

There is little doubt Rick has headed off in a direction of his own with the desire to pursue intensity and graphite-like characters that are the hallmark of truly great Cote Roties. It's not about overtly peppery characters - it's all about refined power with a subtext of succulent fruit held in check. An incredibly fine savoury tannin profile. Ripeness without sweetness is the goal.

2004 'WARNER VINEYARD' SHIRAZ

The 2004 vintage was an exceptional year for reds; dry, cool weather produced wines that delivered power, finesse and complexity at much lower alcohol levels. In short, ripeness without sweetness, power without the heavy cloying hand of overripe fruit and alcohol. Warner Vineyard Shiraz is, in my opinion, the outstanding red wine of the vintage. Superior in every way to those trail blazing shirazes from 2001 and 2002. This wine breaks new ground,

Colour :
Deep, intense, vibrant with magenta to black hue.

Bouquet :
Brooding; aromas of black cherry. Sechzuan pepper, spices, smoked meats, briary forest floor notes and graphite erupt from the glass. Aromatically stunning.

Palate :
Powerful and savoury; tightly coiled with fine savoury tannins and acidity working in with the graphite characters to produce a tensile wine. An explosion of flavours at the end; black cherry, pepper, smoked meats and briar notes concluding with a lone dry savoury finish.

"A wine to age, a wine to savour, a wine that will lift the bar - power, complexity and elegance achieved with an alcohol level of 13.5% " Doug Neal

2005 'WARNER VINEYARD' SHIRAZ

Wildly exotic nose of brambles, graphite, bacon and charcuterie. So much is happening now with this wine, spicy, earthy with a touch of anise. Incredibly powerful but still retaining a wonderful delicacy. It all comes together with a tight, dry, long balanced finish. This is the style of shiraz that I'm aiming for and a further progression in our goals for Warner vineyard. My recent tastings confirm this will be something very special.

2006 'WARNER VINEYARD' SHIRAZ

Very Rhone-like nose, exhibiting what seems to be evolving as our signature nose of charcuterie, graphite and brambles. This has real depth of aroma. Fine palate, fresh spicy rich shiraz fruit characters. Underlying power and flavour, finishing with balanced firm, fine tannins. Properly stored this should last for decades.

2008 'WARNER VINEYARD' SHIRAZ

Deep nose; violets and charcuterie in the now established style of 05 and 06; concentrated; intense; long and powerful. Lively with obvious firm tannins. This vineyard continues to impress with the depth and complexity of the fruit. It will benefit greatly from cellaring. The Warner continues to attract great reviews

2008 'WARNER VINEYARD' SHIRAZ

The nose is wild; brambles and game with violet undertones. Concentrated lush mouth filling palate. Hints of roasted coffee. This powerful wine finishes with assertive tannins. Very much in the Rhone style. This is the first release from our Estate Vineyard amphitheatre block. After several small crops in previous years we now feel the vineyard is producing top quality fruit and can produce a stand alone wine.


Recent Release Tasting Notes

Giaconda Warner Vineyard Shiraz

The next release, 2012 Warner Vineyard Shiraz, will be available for purchase through this website from 1st November 2013.


Warner Vineyard Shiraz is grown 6.5km from the Beechworth town centre on granite soils typical of the general area. The wine is barrel fermented with approximately 30% new French oak. This wine is aged in barrel for 22 months, deep underground in our granite maturation cave.


2012 Barrel Tasting notes: A very exotic nose of Charcuterie, spices and undergrowth. Ripe black fruits lead to a rich palate, fine but assertive tannins with good balance and acidity will ensure this wine becomes deeply complex and exotic with age. The mouth feel is seamless, fleshy and balanced by great length and fine acidity.

2011 Tasting notes: A complex nose of spice, pepper and undergrowth shows lifted red fruit characters as a result of the cooler vintage. A vibrant palate of sweet plums and cherries with an edge of roasted meats, earth and mushroom. The palate is elegant with a long finish and nicely balanced by fine grained silky tannins.

2010 Tasting notes: The nose is profoundly deep with Scents of herb, red fruits and coffee. A firm and more refined, tightly structured palate reflecting a cooler vintage. Exotic Rhone like characters of wild herbs are developing as a counterpoint to the evident dark fruit. This continues the traditional Warner vineyard style and should offer good ageing potential.

2008 Tasting notes: Deep nose; violets and Charcuterie in the now established style of 05 and 06; concentrated; intense; long and powerful. Lively with obvious firm tannins. This vineyard continues to impress with the depth and complexity of the fruit. It will benefit greatly from cellaring. The Warner continues to attract great reviews.

Variety: Shiraz
Alcohol: 13.3%
Closure: Cork and screwcap
Cellaring: 5-20 years aging potential

Availability: Web sales open 1st November 2013

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