2019 John Duval Entity Shiraz Barossa Valley Australia

John Duval is one of Australia's most renowned winemakers and with more than 35 years of experience in the industry, he is an "Australian Wine Legend" as Robert Parker named him in 2010. 

The last name Duval has a long history in the world of wine in Australia.For more than 100 years, the family vineyards supplied grapes to the best winemakers in South Australia.

John Duval Wines vineyards date from the second half of the 19th century and are built on more than 30 years of experience in Australian winemaking and more than 5 generations of experts in the field and wine. John Duval was the visionary from the family who transitioned from only selling grapes to making his own wines.

John Duval studied at the University of Adelaide in 1973 and by the 1974 vintage, he began working at the acclaimed Penfolds winery. At Penfolds, John Duval apprenticed to Don Ditter and Max Schubert, creators of Australia's most famous and iconic wine called “Grange”. Duval displayed his winemaking skills and became the third winemaker in 1986.

John played a very important role in the positioning and worldwide recognition of the Penfolds winery.During his more than 29 years at Penfolds, Duval became a world-renowned star winemaker, some of 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 Duval began producing his own wine, the now renowned label called "Plexus" a blend of Shiraz Grenache and Mourvèdre, and the following year he released a second wine label called Entity. Entity is made from Shiraz grapes from the Barossa Valley, with old vines from Stockwell, Light Pass, Krondorf, and sub-regions of Marananga in Barossa Valley.

2019 John Duval Entity Shiraz Barossa Valley Australiais a wine made respecting the land, the climate and the vine. A wine that delivers a lot of fruitiness and elegance and that makes all wine lovers fall in love with every sip. An ideal for those who want to discover the greatness of Australia and its emblematic grape Syrah.

John Duval discovered the treasures of the Barossa Valley terroir and became a complete lover of the old vines of Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre. Duval's hallmark is complex and elegant wines with great aging potential and expressing the best of the Barossa Valley terroir!

John Duval is not only a Wine Rockstar in Australia, but he is also involved with Viña Ventisquero in the Apalta Valley in Chile, where he is the consulting winemaker. And in the USA, where he is a partner at the Longshadows winery in Washington.

Aging: 15 months in 35% in new fine grain French oak hogsheads.

100% Shiraz. Intense aromas of dark berries, plum, and boysenberry, hints of anise and clove. Excellent concentration of layered rich dark fruits, hints of dark chocolate, and earth. Firm tannins and long finish. Pair this wine with semi-hard cheeses and red grilled meats.

Powerful, vibrant, and fragrant, with dried lavender, Earl Grey, dried oregano, five-spice power, and dark chocolate aromatics to mingle with the core of velvety smooth plum, black cherry, and wild blackberry flavors. The tannins firm up appealingly on the finish, which goes on and on. Drink now through 2042 

~94 Wine Spectator