Wine Enthusiast: Rated as Excellent, extremely well made and highly recommended. "The blend is 73% Shiraz and 27% Cabernet, yielding a full-bodied, creamy-textured wine that still shows touches of Cabernet structure. Powerful notes of mocha, spice, dried fruit and chocolate come to a velvety crescendo on the long finish." Aug 2009

 Robert Parker, Jr., Wine Advocate:  Rated as An outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character.  "The purple-colored 2005 Parson's Flat Shiraz (73%)-Cabernet (27%) was barrel-fermented and aged for 16-18 months in mostly American oak, 60% new.  It offers up a fragrant bouquet of cedar, spice box, pepper, espresso, wild blueberry, and blackberry.  Medium to full-bodied, it exhibits some complexity, layers of savory black fruits, and a lengthy finish.  It has enough structure to evolve for 2-3 years but can be enjoyed now.

James Halliday says of Padthaway, "It is on the way to nowhere.  If you can pass through Coonawarra without noticing very much, you can pass through Padthaway without noticing anything at all."  Be that as it may, this is where the Longbottoms added grape growing to their other farming interests and began Henry's Drive Vignerons.  It quickly became clear that high quality grapes could be grown in Padthaway (they became the foundation of the Marquis-Philips line) and, subsequently, The Henry's Drive, Parson's Flat, and Pillar Box labels have gained significant traction in the USA market over the last ten years thanks to their superb price to quality ratio." Mar 2009

Winery:  "Vignerons Mark and Kim Longbottom, along with the Henry�s Drive winemaking team, practice minimal intervention during the winemaking process � resulting in wines of great length and longevity that are a true expression of their vineyard, region and variety. The Shiraz and Cabernet vines are between 10 and 13 years old, and grow in sandy loam over limestone on the hillside and red loamy soil over limestone on the flat. After minimal intervention in the vinification process, the wine is barrel fermented and matured in oak hogsheads and barriques for 16 to 18 months � 80% American, 20% French, 60% new, 40% one year old oak.

Parson�s Flat has a dense ripe cherry color, with a purple hue. The nose displays a concentrated array of mixed forest berries, smoky cigar box, spicy pepper, clove, caramel and mocha. An initial sweet, concentrated explosion of luscious blackberry on the palate leads to savoury spice, coffee bean and liquorice. Cabernet Sauvignon is still evident, contributing some attractive leafy and spearmint/peppermint flavours. Firm and granular tannins leave the mouth with a persistent coating. A finely-tuned blend that allows both varieties to express themselves."

Wired For Wine:  The finely tuned blend of mostly Shiraz with a lovely Cabernet backup results in this hearty, full-bodied Parson's Flat.  Grilled meats are a must - most notably lamb, steak and sausage.  If you're not in the mood for too much effort, how about grilled sausage and peppers on fresh, grill-toasted rolls?  Sounds great to us.  Or, grilled rib lamb chops with the rich sauce of your choice drizzled over them.  We love a heaping spoonful of buttery tomato/mint chutney on our chops.  The big, round, generous mouth of the Parson's flat is great for countering rich sauces.  Braised vegetables on the side would complement the lamb perfectly, or steak, if you go that route.  Pour a glass and enjoy it with a few pieces of hearty Pecorino while you think over your options; this blend is delicious with aged and/or hard cheeses.  Mushrooms too.  Saut�e some Crimini mushrooms with finely chopped shallots, season with salt and pepper, add some cream and then puree.  Spread the results on toasted baguette slices and sit back and enjoy winelovers!

Size:  750ml
Vintage:  2005
Varietal:  Shiraz (73%) - Cabernet (27%)
Ageing:  16-18 months in 80% American and 20% French oak, 60% new
Alcohol:  14.8%
Region:  Padthaway,  southern Australia
Production:  5,000 dozen