-
97
/ 100
Huon Hooke -
97
/ 100
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate -
95
/ 100
James Suckling
Red
Classification
Shiraz
Variety
2017
Vintage
750ml (Bottle)
Bottle Size
Australia
Country
South Australia, Barossa Valley
Region
15.5%
Alcohol %
15 Plus Years
Cellaring
Scores
97 / 100"Very deep, dark, dense red colour with purple and black tinges. The bouquet is very nutty, savoury, with freshly-turned earth and cedary, well-seasoned oak aromas, espresso coffee, mocha, raisiny fruitcake and dark chocolate coming up with airing. The palate is soft and already showing some attractive mellowness, while the palate is profound and fleshy, dense and high-extract, but the quality of the tannins is superbly smooth and equable. Some alcohol warmth is part of its formidable length. A massive, powerful wine of great persistence and amazing balance in spite of its proportions. An elephant in a tutu."
- Huon Hooke
97 / 100
"I poured the 2017 The Laird, set it aside and got about doing other jobs for 45 minutes or so, to give it some room to breathe. And it does breathe. It has its own pulse and beat and life, and it flexes and moves in the mouth. This is incredibly enveloping, with aromas reminiscent of campfire coals, charred eucalyptus, lamb fat, roasted beetroot, black tea and a prowling sort of countenance. In the mouth, the wine is bonded and cohesive and seamless, there are no gaps between anything, no space between fruit, oak and tannin; it all comes as one. While this is a singular wine, it is so big and concentrated that it needs no accompaniment other than some fresh air and a good mate. It's denser than osmium and is impenetrable at this stage."
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
95 / 100
"Blackberry, black mushroom, black truffle, and black dirt. Purple fruit. Roasted meat and wet earth. It full-bodied, rich and powerful with chocolate and toasted oak. Impressive depth and power. This was a wetter year so not the depth as normal years but still impressive. A little warm at the end. Planted in 1958."
- James Suckling
Tasting Notes
Heady aromas of intense, rich dark fruits such as satsuma plum, blackberry and mulberry fill the bouquet with dark chocolate, spices and savoury notes combining added complexities. The palate possesses a rich concentration, with flavours of liquorice, ripe blackberries, dark plums and black cherries, evolving into a dark chocolate and mocha finish with cinnamon spice. Held together with a tight tannin profile and generous oak, the 2015 shows all the opulence and elegance of previous Laird’s, but with a complexity, precision and prominence that will make sure it ages gracefully for the next 20 - 30 years. This single vineyard Shiraz comes from an old vineyard in Marananga, planted in 1958. The five acre vineyard is traditionally dry grown and comes from an original Barossa clonal source. South facing, on the eastern side of a ridge separating the Seppeltsfield and Marananga appellations, these aged vines have been meticulously hand tended, traditionally farmed and pruned by a grower with a lifetime’s experience on Western Barossa soils of very dark, heavy clay loam over red friable clay. The resulting low yields of small, concentrated Shiraz berries make the vineyard the envy of all winemakers in the Barossa.
Tasting Profile
- Light
- Full
- Low Tannin
- Tannic
- Sweet
- Dry
- Low Acidity
- High Acidity