★ SHIRAZ AND BLENDS
95 2019 Amelia Park Wines Reserve Shiraz, Frankland River
I've said it (many times) before, and I'll say it again: the regional footprint of Frankland River is significant. The ferrous-ironstone character that underpins the muscular but succulent fruit is key to the region's success, adding an extra layer of dimension and complexity to the shiraz grown here. So it goes, for this wine. Graphite tannins encase the mulberry, blackberry and roasted pomegranate fruit, while the undertow of regionality carries the wine across the tongue. EL 14.5% alc.
RRP $70 / Drink 2032 / Amelia Park Wines ★★★★★ ameliaparkwines.com.au
2020 Anderson Hill O Series Shiraz, Adelaide Hills
Bright, vibrant and fresh – and just look at that intense purple colour! Catches the eye and the senses, with a lifted fragrance of dark sweet red fruits, earth, oak spice and tapenade. Lively across the palate, everything brought together by a fine mesh of tannins. The complete Hills shiraz package. JP 14.7% alc.
RRP $50 / Drink 2030 / Anderson Hill ★★★★★ andersonhill.com.au
2020 Bleasdale Vineyards Generations Shiraz, Langhorne Creek
Opens with a bright crimson-red hue. It has the inherent pliable mouthfeel of Langhorne Creek that offers the widest window of opportunity to drink half and cellar half. It has varietal plum, blackberry, licorice and spice flavours held within a silken web of fine tannins. Drink any place at any time. JH 14% alc.
RRP $35 / Drink 2035 / Bleasdale Vineyards ★★★★★ bleasdale.com.au
2017 Craiglee Reserve Shiraz, Sunbury
The best 3 barrels of the vintage make the Reserve. This is all gloss and glorious. Full bodied, with dark fruits and spiced to the max with a grind of black pepper and cedary oak doing its bit, both structurally and flavour-wise. Tannins are supple and fine. There’s no shortage of flavour, yet this retains a certain elegance.
RRP $135 / Drink 2040 / Craiglee ★★★★★ craigleevineyard.com
2020 Glaetzer Wines Amon-Ra Unfiltered Shiraz, Barossa Valley
Always a picture of pure fruit density and latent power, the latest release of Ben Glaetzer's Amon Ra continues that theme of Barossa concentration. Glossy blackberry, black cherry and satsuma plum fruit flow readily, that compact Ebenezer power on full display. Hints of baking spice, earth, licorice and dark chocolate come into play, along with tightly packed, gypsum-like tannins for support, impressive acid cadence and a persistent and enduring exit. Always impressive. DB 14.5% alc.
RRP $100 / Drink 2035 / Glaetzer Wines ★★★★★ glaetzer.com
2019 Hanging Rock Winery Shiraz, Heathcote
Sourced from the vineyard of the Ellis family's friend, ex-Seeker, Athol Guy, in a hot, dry year. It's early days for this wine – consider some cellar time, if you can. Tight as a drum, prominent in dark fruits, inky tannins and generous in oak. The stage is set for a rich, textured, inky, intense shiraz. JP 14.3% alc.
RRP $80 / Drink 2033 / Hanging Rock Winery ★★★★★ hangingrock.com.au
2019 Henschke Tappa Pass Vineyard Selection Shiraz, Barossa Zone
It always blow my mind how calm and composed Henschke wines come across in the glass. The 2019 vintage was low-yielding but the quality is excellent. This edition of the Tappa Pass shows wonderful fruit weight and palate presence. Blackberry, black cherry and satsuma plum fruit combine with spice, earth and a delightful floral flicker. Cascading ripe tannin and bright mineral-like framework steers the pure fruit nicely and the finish is long and enduring. DB 14.5% alc.
RRP $120 / Drink 2035 / Henschke ★★★★★ henschke.com.au
2019 Karrawatta Tutelina Shiraz, McLaren Vale Langhorne Creek Adelaide Hills
In the Roman religion, Tutelina was the goddess of agriculture. An unusual blend of selected rows of fruit from 3 regions, and despite the highish alcohol, there is an air of elegance and deceptive beauty to this wine. And it changes in the glass, which adds that extra degree of intrigue. Plum, olive, cassis, earth and leather, cocoa powder and charcuterie vie for your attention, folding and layering over and over across the palate. And, above it all, lifted herbal and floral aromatics, too, of violet, star anise and sage. Quite the individual taste experience. JP 15% alc.
RRP $275 / Drink 2032 / Karrawatta ★★★★★ karrawatta.com.au
2018 Saltram Mamre Brook Shiraz, Barossa Zone
I've a soft spot for this wine, having tried many stellar older examples (made by Peter Lehmann in those days) over the years. Blow me down if it still isn't a delicious Barossa shiraz all these years later. Plush plum and berry fruits, dotted with spice, licorice and chocolate with violet high notes. Glossier and contemporary, but things change y'know? Great to see the bloodline is running strong and true. DB 14.5% alc.
RRP $38 / Drink 2030 / Saltram ★★★★☆ saltramwines.com.au
2016 Sons of Eden Autumnus Shiraz, Eden Valley
An epic display of fruit concentration. Black plum, cherry and berry fruits are layered with spice and hints of dark chocolate, tamari, cedar, pipe tobacco, cola, choc-mint, blackolive tapenade and oodles of oak spice. That spicy, cedar oak flares on the palate but it just melts into the hedonistic, concentrated fruit beautifully. Super-plush, with ripe long-chain tannins. The wine finishes with substantial fruit horsepower and sarsaparilla-like spice. Impressive and heady drinking. DB 14.5% alc.
RRP $350 / Drink 2038 / Sons of Eden ★★★★★ sonsofeden.com
2018 Talbots Block Wines The Sultan Shiraz, Clare Valley
Matured for 20 months in a combination of French (30% new) and American oak. The flagship wine, and generally released 3-4 years from harvest. For all the time spent in oak, the concentrated ripe fruit has sucked it all into a swirling vortex of back and red berries, whorls of exotic market spice and a swoosh of bright acid. This is really, really lovely. EL 14.2% alc.
RRP $39 / Drink 2035 / Talbots Block Wines ★★★★★ talbotsblock.com.au
2019 Thomas Wines Herlestone Shiraz, Hunter Valley
This is Thomas glimpsing the mid-weighted and savoury succulence of the Hunter, while applying his exactitude and impressionable sheen of violet florals, purple fruits, iodine and pastille. A delicious wine. Exceptional for the price. Long, toothsome and vibrant. NG 14.5% alc.
RRP $30 / Drink 2028 / Thomas Wines ★★★★★ thomaswines.com.au
2019 Torbreck Vintners RunRig, Barossa Valley
With 1.5% viognier. Aged for 30 months in French oak (50% new). Impenetrable purple red in the glass, with layers of dense dark plum and blackberry fruit of considerable purity and heft. Notes of blackforest cake, Old Jamaica chocolate, cedar, turned earth, crème de cassis and kirsch. Big, bold and balanced with a velvety flow, firm fine tannin and long dark finish of warmth and classic Barossan fruit weight. DB 15% alc.
RRP $300 / Drink 2031 / Torbreck Vintners ★★★★★ torbreck.com
2019 Tyrrell’s Wines Single Vineyard Old Hut Shiraz, Hunter Valley
A mid ruby. Digestible and mid weighted, the signatures of the Hunter. Sweet loam and terracotta aromas, the calling card. Larger oak and judicious extraction, the conduits. Sarsaparilla, bergamot, violet, sweet red and black cherry and a sluice of anise.
More intensity than the Mother, with similar sap, a bit more flare and greater pinosity. NG 13.5% alc.
RRP $65 / Drink 2033 / Tyrrell’s Wines ★★★★★ tyrrells.com.au
2020 Bekkers Syrah, McLaren Vale
As with all wines here, this is a wine of consummate class and refinement. While the grenache is the leading light, this sits comfortably as a single seed behind. Carnal spice, pepper grind, salami and blue to darker fruits are strung across bow of saline tannic tension, rolled into a firm gristly knot. Superlative grape tannins, mind you, extracted with a confident aplomb. The oak, a mere echo. This glimpses the finest crus of the northern Rhône through the lens of the Vale. Exciting. Exceptional. Rewarding. NG 14.2% alc.
RRP $120 / Drink 2030 / Bekkers ★★★★★ bekkerswine.com