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97
/ 100
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96
/ 100
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96
/ 100
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95+
/ 100
Tasting Notes
Vat 9 Shiraz is sourced from the best parcels on the Tyrrell Estate ‘Ashmans’. These vines have a minimum age of 50 years, and are grown in red clay soils over limestone. Weinkeller and the Short Flat make up the majority of the Vat 9 blend. The five-hectare Short Flat Vineyard is located directly north of the driveway of the Tyrrell’s Estate. The vineyard is a mosaic of vine ages with two distinctly named Shiraz blocks: the Mathews and Contours vineyards. Grapes from these vineyards, which were both planted in 1968 and are both situated at an elevation of about 115m, form an integral part of the blend in our flagship Vat 9 Shiraz.
The autumn and winter months of 2020 saw the worst drought in a generation be broken with substantial rainfall, we led into an outstanding growing season for the 2021 vintage. A cool summer then gave us even, stress-free ripening with some heat around Australia Day that was perfectly timed at the final stages of ripening. With an early budburst and later than normal harvesting, the fruit had a longer than normal hang time, which meant that all of the fruit had wonderful flavours balanced by a high natural acidity. Handpicked and sorted in the vineyard in the second week of February, the blocks were all kept separate and fermented in the open top vats. The individual wines were then matured in mostly newer French oak casks (2700L) until the Vat 9 blend was assembled in November 2021. The blend was then matured for a further five months before bottling.
Vibrant purple in colour, a regal nose showing lifted spice, dark fruits and subtle hint of oak. The palate ismedium-bodied showing great intensity and the velvety texture that is seen in the best wines from this vintage. The palate structure is effortless with no rough edges showing wonderful balance of fruit, acid, oak and tannin.
Tasting Profile
- Light
- Full
- Low Tannin
- Tannic
- Sweet
- Dry
- Low Acidity
- High Acidity
Classification: Red
Variety: Shiraz
Vintage: 2022
Bottle Size: 750ml (Bottle)
Country: Australia
Region: New South Wales, Hunter Valley
Alcohol %: 13.5%
Cellaring: 10-15 Years
Scores
97 / 100"This wine upholds its regal status as one of the finest reds from the region. Multilayered and serious, you'll find concentrated flavours laced within a velvety frame. The palate is commanding with its assertive intensity and its plush, expansive nature. You'll see blood plums, crushed sage, mulberries and wet soil. There's also some cracked cacao nib, pure blueberry and earthy rhubarb compote. The grapes are sourced from the best parcels from Tyrrell's Ashmans property. Pure class."
- James Halliday's Wine Companion
96 / 100
"Brilliant deep purple-red colour; red berry, bacon-fat, raspberry and pepper aromas, bright and fresh on palate, intense and above all supremely elegant, medium bodied and focused, long and intense but also subtle and refined. A great example of the medium bodied elegance of classic Hunter shiraz."
- Huon Hooke
96 / 100
"The flagship. Perhaps overlooked, due to the commercial obsession with the single vineyard wines, a recent phenomenon. To do so is the drinker's loss, for this is exceptional. Alpine spruce, licorice root, blue and red-fruit allusions, with flecks of mint providing lift and verve. The coddled warmth of polished leather. Lovely stuff, defined by the long-stretch tannins, a manifest from a meld of older vine sites. Typically Hunter mid-weighted and savory. Drink or hold, but best after 2030. Screw cap."
- James Suckling
95+ / 100
"Pretty, perfumed, dark red fruit, a little spice, a light dusting of vanilla cocoa. Medium-bodied, composed and flavoursome, cool clear acidity, tannin is there adding gentle grip, kind of a powdery/chalky texture here, and the finish is long with fragrance, fine grip and a sort of cranberry acidity. It’s quite a delicate wine, and I reckon it will be terrific with some bottle age. Superb."
- Gary Walsh
