John Duval Plexus Red 2009
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Robert
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The aim with Plexus is to express the wide spectrum of red fruit flavors from Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre and also provide structure with a seamless balance and long finish. Traditional, low intervention winemaking techniques are employed with Plexus, allowing the wine to be approachable in its youth, but also have great cellaring potential for improvement in the bottle for at least 8-10 years.
Blend: 48% Shiraz, 31% Grenache, 21% Mourvedre
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Polished, round and plush, but not over the top, offering a mouthful of ripe blueberry, blackberry, cream and spice flavors that merge seamlessly and persist through the long, refined finish. Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre. Drink now through 2020.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet colored with a hint of purple, the 2009 Plexus Shiraz Grenache gives notes of warm mulberries, kirsch and black tea with hints of Indian spices, fenugreek, cumin seed and dusty earth. Full bodied with a great concentration of opulent fruit, it has a medium level of silky tannins and lively acid to support, finishing long and harmonious. Delicious now, it should cellar to 2019+.
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Wine &
John Duval is one of Australia's most highly regarded winemakers. Raised on a South Australian farm with three generations of grape growers before him, his vinous path was fated. However, it was during his 28-year tenure with Penfolds that his passion for the famed Barossa Valley flourished. As Chief Winemaker and custodian of Australia's most famous wine, Grange, he was instrumental in establishing Penfolds as one of the world's great wineries. His accolades include being named UK Wine and Spirit Competition's International Winemaker of the Year, Red Winemaker of the Year (twice) and receiving Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year award. In 2003, John embarked on his own label, John Duval Wines, inspired by the best of the Barossa Valley's low-yielding, old vine vineyards. With a deft touch he crafts intense wines that are as complex and distinctive as the diverse terroir of his treasured Barossa Valley.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
Historically and presently the most important wine-producing region of Australia, the Barossa Valley is set in the Barossa zone of South Australia, where more than half of the country’s wine is made. Because the climate is very hot and dry, vineyard managers work diligently to ensure grapes reach the perfect levels of phenolic ripeness.
The intense heat is ideal for plush, bold reds, particularly Shiraz on its own or Rhône Blends. Often Shiraz and Cabernet partner up for plump and powerful reds.
While much less prevalent, light-skinned varieties such as Riesling, Viognier or Semillon produce vibrant Barossa Valley whites.
Most of Australia’s largest wine producers are based here and Shiraz plantings date back as far as the 1850s or before. Many of them are dry farmed and bush trained, still offering less than one ton per acre of inky, intense, purple juice.