-
97
/ 100
Sam Kim -
96
/ 100
Ken Gargett – Winepilot.com
Red
Classification
Shiraz
Variety
2020
Vintage
750ml (Bottle)
Bottle Size
Australia
Country
South Australia, McLaren Vale
Region
14.0%
Alcohol %
10-15 Years
Cellaring
Scores
97 / 100"This is gloriously rich and enticing with blackberry, warm spice, tapenade and cedary oak characters on the nose. The palate is equally impressive, displaying outstanding weight and power combined with velvety mouthfeel, finishing superbly long and delicious. At its best: now to 2040."
- Sam Kim
96 / 100
"This wine is part of a limited series of McLaren Vale Shiraz from the Martins Vineyard and for me, perhaps the most impressive in the range from the Curtis Family – which is saying something as it has plenty of competition.Vibrant purple in colour, this offers a lovely seductive nose, which is deeply flavoured with blackberry notes, plums, boot leather, bergamot, black cherries and spices. Hints of oak but melding well. Dense in structure though well balanced at all times, this is very long and has satiny tannins in abundance. It should sail through a decade in the cellar, though is drinking well now. While it certainly has some of the power of the 2020 vintage, and will go the distance, this is still more than enjoyable now, which is something that not all of the ’20 wines can claim. Simply a cracking McLaren Vale Shiraz"
- Ken Gargett – Winepilot.com
Tasting Notes
ACCOLADES; 97 Points, Sam Kim 96 Points, Ken Gargett (Winepilot.com) Drawing on Shiraz plantings from the 1950s this is a small batch wine (release is about 600 dozen) made to honour some of Australia's older Shiraz traditions bowing only slightly to modern trends. It is neither an over oaked jammy bruiser nor a modern midweight perfumed delicacy … rather it endeavours well to combine the best bits of both oeuvres. From the 1970s and 80s comes relatively low alcohol … at 14% this is low by Aussie standards where most Shiraz sit between 14.5 and 15.5% alcohol. This gives the wine a tightness, refinement and ageability and a freshness of fruit rather than jam. Next, American oak … French is pretty much all the rage these days, so it is unusual to find vanilla notes floating around … but the oak here is very high quality, the grain is tight and the toast gentle, so the vanilla becomes a complexing component rather than the headline act. Finally, old vines and low yield … this is an extremely concentrated wine with vibrant blue and black fruits, a silkiness and smoothness that reflects its price tag and a level of tannin and acidity which speaks to its long life ahead. Cellaring: Drink now to 2060
Tasting Profile
- Light
- Full
- Low Tannin
- Tannic
- Sweet
- Dry
- Low Acidity
- High Acidity