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Reviews for Brokenwood Rayner Vineyard Shiraz

Date	Title
2 Dec 2009 PDF	2004 Brokenwood Rayner Vineyard Shiraz Alontin's Australian Wine Reviews - and Beyond Alontin The 2004 Brokenwood Rayner Vineyard Shiraz is a well crafted wine. From an outstanding year in McLaren Vale, the structure is seemless, with velvety fruit caressing the tongue. Unfortunately, the wine is also quite heavily oaked, covering some of the underlying fruit. The wine is still lively and fresh. I hope that over time the fruit will win out over the oak. POINTS: 93/-
14 May 2008	2004 Brokenwood Rayner Vineyard Shiraz The Good Taste Guide 'Wine' - The Newcastle Herald by John Lewis ONE of the Hunter-based Brokenwood Company’s biggest triumphs was in the 2001 London International Wine Challenge – with a wine made from McLaren Vale grapes. The wine was the Brokenwood 1999 Rayner Vineyard Shiraz, which was judged ‘The Best Red and The Best Shiraz’, a brilliant coup in what is the largest, most international and most respected wine competition in the world. Sadly, because Wirra Wirra Wines bought the Rayner Vineyard at the end of last year, Rayner Vineyard Shiraz will disappear from the Brokenwood portfolio after the 2006 wine is released. The Rayner vines were planted up to 50 years ago on spur of deep Blewitt Springs sand at McLaren Vale by the late David Rayner, who had worked with Iain Riggs when he was managing the Hazelmere Winery at McLaren Vale in the early 1980’s. When Iain moved from Hazelmere to the Hunter in 1983 to become Chief Winemaker-Managing Director of Brokenwood, he maintained his close association with David, and the Brokenwood Rayner Shiraz wines made their first appearance in the 1993 vintage. The current release is the 2004 Rayner Vineyard Shiraz which sells for $69 a bottle. Over the past decade, the Rayner wines have been a valued part of the Brokewood line-up and Rayner Shiraz was a vital component of the $180-a-bottle Brokenwood 1996 HBA Shiraz released last year. Iain Riggs was inspired to make the HBA by the great Hardy’s Hunter McLaren Vale Shiraz blends of the 1950’s and 1960’s. It is a 50-50 blend of the barrel of wine from the Graveyard Vineyard at Pokolbin and the best barrel from the Rayner Vineyard at McLaren Vale and was tagged HBA to honour the three founders of Brokenwood – James Halliday, John Beeston and Tony Albert. The prime 40-hectare Rayner Vineyard gives a major boost to Wirra Wirra’s grape supply, buy Iain Riggs is philosophical about his loss. He says he has excellent alternative McLaren Vale growers in Derek and Raylene Wade. Brokenwood has been taking shiraz, sauvignon blanc and chardonnay from the Wade Vineyard since 2001 and the fruit quality has been steadily improving. “We enjoyed great success with our Rayner wines and we are sad to have lost Rayner as a source,” says Iain. “However the Wade Vineyard has been nudging ahead year by year and its grapes are excellent.” Wine drinkers can put the quality to the test in the newly released Brokenwood 2006 Wade Block 2 Vineyard Shiraz, reviewed today in Uncorked.
1 Aug 2007	2004 Brokenwood Rayner Vineyard Shiraz Australian Wine Companion by James Halliday A medium- to full-bodied mainstream varietal style with blackberry, dark chocolate and some savoury/earthy notes; oak in appropriately solid support; good tannins and mouthfeel. Top vintage, top wine. Rating: 94 points
16 Jul 2007	2003 Brokenwood Rayner Vineyard Shiraz www.gismondionwine.com by Anthony Gismondi (Canada) Smoky leather, tobacco, bacon, gamey, vanilla, black cherry aromas. Smooth, round rich palate with supple tannins and a touch of acidity. Leather, Chocolate, tobacco, black cherry, cola, bacon, spicy, white pepper flavours with a cedar, olive note on the finish. Not as fruity a style with a touch of acidity but well balanced. Rating: 90 points
1 Jul 2007	2005 Brokenwood Rayner Vineyard Shiraz Steven Tanzer's International Wine Cellar Issue 133 July/August by Steven Tanzer (US) Bright purple. Smoky, vanilla-accented blueberry and cassis aromas develop candied licorice, dark chocolate and olive notes with air. Supple dark berry preserve flavours display an impressive melange of depth and energy with sweet vanilla and vibrant violet pastille notes building on the back. Obviously sweet but admirably focused, finishing with very persistent flavours of juicy black currant and cherry. Rating: 91 points
18 Jul 2006	2003 Brokenwood Rayner Vineyard Shiraz Good Living - Sydney Morning Herald by Ralph Kyte-Powell FOR THE CELLAR The mature Rayner vineyard at McLaren Vale is the source of this generously built ’03 Brokenwood. It’s in seamless balance, ripe, intense, sustained and full-bodied, yet fresh and vibrant. Best two to twelve years. Food – roast fillet of beef”
1 Jun 2006	2003 Brokenwood Rayner Vineyard Shiraz Australian Wine Companion 2007 by James Halliday Supple, mouth-filling, medium-to-full bodied wine; dark fruits with splashes of chocolate and mocha; ripe tannins. Screwcap. Rating: 92 Drink: 2013
PDF	2005 Brokenwood Rayner Vineyard Shiraz The Australian Wine Annual 2010 Jeremy Oliver 91 Points “A smooth, polished shiraz whose intense, brambly flavours of raspberries, redcurrants, cherries and plums are backed by meaty, spicy complexity and sweet vanilla/cedar oak. Its earthy, floral bouquet has a ripe, jammy intensity, with undertones of mint and cranberry. Slightly confectionery and darker-fruited, its supple, fine-grained palate finishes long and persistent, with lingering notes of five spice and licorice. ”

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