Rufus Stone Shiraz
⏳ Drinking Window
2022 - 2028
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Grilled ribeye steak, roasted leg of lamb, hearty beef stew
✨ Technical Specifications
Tyrrell's Rufus Stone Shiraz is a captivating red wine that bridges Australian viticulture with medieval English history. The wine is named after the Rufus Stone monument in Hampshire's New Forest, which marks the spot where King William II (known as 'Rufus' due to his ruddy complexion) was killed by an arrow in the year 1100—an incident famously involving Sir Walter Tyrrell. For this expressive Shiraz, Tyrrell's ventures outside their home in the Hunter Valley to the Heathcote region of Victoria. Heathcote is legendary for its ancient, deep red Cambrian soils, which are over 500 million years old. These unique soils, combined with a warm growing season and cool nights, yield a Shiraz of remarkable depth, characterized by intense dark plum, blackberry, and signature cracked black pepper notes, framed by elegant French oak maturation.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1858 by English immigrant Edward Tyrrell, Tyrrell's is one of Australia's founding wine dynasties and a cornerstone member of Australia's First Families of Wine. Nestled beneath the Brokenback Range in the Pokolbin subdistrict of the Hunter Valley, the estate oversees some of the world's rarest own-rooted heritage vineyards, notably the Sacred Sites planted as early as 1867 and 1879. Viticulture focuses on sustainable stewardship over ancient alluvial flats and weathered clay loams under a warm, maritime-influenced sub-tropical microclimate. The winemaking philosophy balances traditional techniques, neutral oak, and minimal intervention to preserve purity, vitality, and sense of place. Tyrrell's benchmark portfolio is internationally celebrated for Vat 1 Hunter Semillon—an austere, unwooded white renowned for its transformative longevity—alongside Vat 47 Chardonnay, widely credited with pioneering commercial Australian Chardonnay, and the singular, medium-bodied Old Patch and Vat 9 Shirazes.
🍇 Grapes
Shiraz
🍷 ABV
14% - 14.5%