Eden Road’s is the sort of Australian Shiraz that you should become acquainted with: silky, sexy and fragrant. Eden Road is not an old winery but they hit their stride early, blasting onto the scene by winning the prestigious Jimmy Watson Trophy for their first vintage of their Long Road Shiraz. (It was only a few years later that Best’s Great Western also took out the Jimmy Watson for their Bin 1 Shiraz).
Nestled in the hilltops of high altitude Canberra District, the wines reflect distinct sites of this region that is confusingly mostly not in Canberra itself. Amongst the sheep paddocks of Gundagai, the mountains of Tumbarumba or the village of Murrumbateman, old soils formed over 400 million years ago by rich rain forests and dense wetlands have become verdant soils for viticulture.
Vines are grown at Eden Road’s estate vineyard in Murrumbateman as well as several sites in Hilltops, Gundagai and Tumbarumba where vines date back 30 years. Altitudes range from 200 to 2,600 feet above sea level. Wines are made by Nick Spencer, who has previous experience at Rosemount, Coldstream Hills and Madew, as well as four years in Bordeaux as winemaker and consultant for various wineries in Eastern Europe.