Michel Chapoutier, the prominent producer in France's northern Rhône Valley, took a bold step in 2009 by investing in the land down under. (Many French winemakers consider South Australia's sunny climate and exuberantly fruity wines a scourge on the marketplace.) As if by magic, this Chapoutier-owned estate managed to coax out a more austere quality from the shiraz grape (a.k.a. syrah) of Chapoutier's homeland. There's an uncanny essence of jus de boeuf here, which would please a Rhône lover, as well as a kick of white pepper. I'd bestow a 95-point score on this offbeat Australian, as did critic Robert Parker, if it weren't so ripe and knocking at the door of Sun-Maid raisins. Pair it with rich red-meat stews or sweet pork ribs.