Rufus Stone
⏳ Drinking Window
2022 - 2028
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Grilled ribeye steak, slow-roasted leg of lamb with rosemary, hearty beef stew
✨ Technical Specifications
Tyrrell's 'Rufus Stone' is a rich and robust Shiraz that pays homage to a colorful piece of Tyrrell family history. The wine is named after the Rufus Stone in England's New Forest, which marks the spot where King William II (known as 'Rufus' for his red hair) was fatally struck by an arrow in the year 1100—an arrow reputedly shot by Sir Walter Tyrrell, an ancestor of the winemaking family. While Tyrrell's is legendary for its Hunter Valley estates, the Rufus Stone label represents their exploration of premier Shiraz regions, historically sourcing from top-tier vineyards in South Australia and Victoria. The wine is crafted to showcase a deeply concentrated, classic Australian Shiraz style, featuring fermentation in open-top fermenters followed by maturation in a mix of French and American oak barrels to impart structure, spice, and velvety tannins.
🍾 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%