Sons of Eden, Romulus Old Vine Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia 2019 (14.5%)

£54 Alexander Hadleigh, Ex-Cellar, Hard to Find Wines, Pull the Cork, Wine Direct

This Barossa wine makes the perfect point of comparison with our Eden Valley Shiraz Best in Show. Both wines are a saturatedly opaque, but in place of the racy, lifted fruits of the Eden Shiraz, this Barossa wine is weightier, sweeter, its fruits confit and pressed, with notes of oil, camphor and leaf litter lending those fruits an intriguing chiaroscuro. On the palate, it is dense and almost shockingly flavourful, mimicking the wine’s aromatic complexities to compelling effect. Texturally, too, this is far weightier, with rich, flavour-saturated tannins and a soft, unconfected acid balance. Virtuoso, vanguard Barossa.

Completing a Best in Show brace for Sons of Eden in 2022 is the Romulus 2019 from Barossa – an upgrade from the impressive Platinum win for its 2018 vintage in last year’s DWWA.

Sons of Eden are winemaker Corey Ryan and viticulturist Simon Cowham, and what started out in 2000 as a couple of barrels’ worth of production now exceeds 12,000 cases sourced from fruit spread across 30 sites.

Prior to joining forces, Ryan and Cowham learned their trade at Henschke and Yalumba, respectively. ‘Our philosophy is simple,’ says Ryan. ‘It’s about making unique wines that show provenance. The Barossa is well known for its old-vine heritage, but quite often its climatic and geographical diversity is understated.

‘At Sons of Eden we make two old-vine Shirazes, from the twin valleys of Barossa. Aptly named Romulus and Remus, these show unique characteristics directly influenced by where they are grown. Romulus, from the warmer Barossa Valley, is more concentrated, rich and powerful.’

The fruit comes from 60- to 100-year-old vineyards, hand-harvested and chilled for six days. It’s then allowed to warm naturally before fermentation begins of its own accord, the resulting wine being aged in an equal split of new and seasoned French oak.