Mclaren Vale

James Halliday – "Part from the oldest estate block (planted '48), and Rayments clone 1654 (planted '96), destemmed, berry-sorted, lightly crushed, 3 days cold soak, wild yeast-open fermented, pressed at 1 degrees baume for primary and mlf in French oak (35% new). Great fruit, great vintage, great winemaking." James Halliday | 98 Points

World Wine – The 2016 Domaine Clarendon Old Vine Grenache blends lots of Clarendon, Hickinbotham and Kangarilla into a lovely mix of spice and fruit. Notes of cinnamon and cherries mingle easily on the nose and palate of this wine, which comes across as medium to full-bodied and gentle in style, not overly extracted or tannic. Drink 2019-2026.

Wine Spectator – Juicy notes of ripe black cherry and spiced plum are thick and velvety, oozing with details of baking spices, tobacco and Earl Grey tea on the finish. Concentrated and complex. The thick tannins add some charm. Drink now through 2030.

James Halliday – Complex, rich and layered, black and red fruits provide the mosaic of flavours. The tannin and oak management can't be faulted. A lovely wine at a bargain basement price.

Wine Spectator –

The Wine Front – 'This is just ballistically good. If this was made by Penfolds they’d charge you 500 bucks for it. It has might and power but it’s not over the top; fruit-wise it’s ‘only’ medium in weight and, indeed, it boasts both an elegance and a fruit freshness. But my oh my, what a swagger of tannin, what an infusion of fragrant shrubbery, what commanding length. Oak, smoky and cedar-like, plays a key role but safe to say, the wine is up to it and then some. Roll me in a river of this. Smoked tobacco. Old dry bay leaves. Fresh redcurrant, into black. This is a cabernet. 96+ Points' - Campbell Mattinson, Winefront

The Wine Front –

James Halliday – Shy and brooding, this is a bright and fragrant expression of Mataro. A gently complex nose of clove, cardamom and fennel seeds, Provencal herbs, and blue berry fruit. On the palate, a compact core of blue tinged fruit subtly supported by creamy oak, and carried by a ferruginous driving tannin structure which carries the fruit through the mouth.

James Halliday – Hand-picked, 75% destemmed and berry-sorted, 25% whole bunches, wild-fermented, on lees in French oak (35% new) for 15 months then a barrel selection to showcase the characteristic ironstone it grows in. A magnificent wine with length to its stride and a lightness of foot. James Halliday Wine Companion, 1 August, 2020

Wine Spectator – Pepper, spice and tobacco notes are fragrant and bold up front, with dark chocolate, toasted coconut, herb and caramel details to the core of wild blackberry and blueberry flavors. The tannins are dense but polished. Shiraz and Cabernet. Drink now through 2031.

Robert Parker/Wine Advocate – A blend of 72% Shiraz and 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2017 Enchanted Path weighs in at a labeled 16.5% alcohol, yet (when served at the proper temperature) it doesn't come across as being overripe or hot. It's unabashedly full-bodied, with notes of blackberry, blueberry and cassis, yet it retains a savory edge, rich, velvety tannins and a long, intense finish. Joe Czerwinski - Wine Advocate

World Wine – Being a blend of three varieties, this GSM has lovely and varied aromas and flavours to delve into. Notes of spiced red berries with hints of vanilla oak sweetness fill the glass. The wine is delightfully soft and generous, with ripe raspberry and mulberry flavours. Cinnabar is bright and lively with elegant structure and balance, integrated tannins and a clean, fresh finish.

World Wine – McLaren Vale blend of 48% grenache, 45% shiraz, 7% sagrantino. It feels fluid. It’s exquisitely well structured. It shows herbs and fruits and balance in good measure, and it floats out through the finish as if nothing in the world could stop it. It’s not heavy but it’s not light; it’s berried and ripe but it’s not sweet. In short, Mitolo nailed this one.

Huon Hooke – Deep, darkling purple/red colour, with a bouquet of wood-smoke and undergrowth. The wine is full-bodied and somewhat subdued in its fruit expression while the tannins are very abundant and quite firm, leaving a determined grip at the finish. Latent cherry and plum. A big, generous, solidly built shiraz that will reward cellaring. The Real Review, 12 March, 2021

The Wine Front – Biodynamic farmed from a single vineyard on the Paxton estate. Grows up in French and American oak barrels. Paxton have been a leading light in showing biodynamic (certified) viticulture can be done to scale, well. Inky, deep, throaty red of hearty, dark fruit character, all inky cassis and choc-berry, liquid spice, fat tannins. A juicy, fleshy, plush flow of espresso tinged plummy fruit, gritty, savouriness to close. This is a big, bold red of warming character and density. Touch of warmth in the mix. It’s done pretty well for its style.

James Halliday – Biodynamic-grown fruit, open-fermented, matured in French and American barriques for 18 months. A celebrated McLaren Vale single vineyard wine, effortlessly providing a deep well of black fruits and fine-grained tannins, the oak a positive contributor, not a rabble rouser.

World Wine – Chocolate, dried plum and anise notes are juicy and bursting with blackberry accents. Balanced and smooth, especially on the finish. Drink now through 2026.

The Wine Front – "This, and the 2017 Temp Touriga, are the only releases from Koomilya until 2021. If the wines aren’t up to scratch, they don’t get released. The CP block planted in 1975, and recently reworked, and given some love since 2012.Classic Aussie red in many ways, but reference that in a more old school way, perhaps. Blackcurrant, liquorice, raspberry liqueur, some exotic spice, a minor amount of truffle and polished wood. It’s juicy and supple, tannin is tucked tight into sheets of intense and subtly sweet small berried fruit, there’s a savoury sort of umami/nori thing happening too, and the finish is long and slick with ripe tannin. Quiet authority here, and it’s a wine that’s not trying too hard to be anything other than what it is, which, in short, is very bloody good." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

James Halliday – "A block regenerated by the Pannells since they purchased it in '12, it produces small berries in small bunches of intensely flavoured grapes. Hand-picked, 10 days on skins, pressed to French puncheons for 19 months maturation. It is the only unblended wine so far made and sold under the Koomilya banner, 4560 bottles made. It is a wine of beauty, with effortless poise and flawless fruit that is medium to full-bodied at most. How long will it live? Try 40 years." - James Halliday (Halliday Wine Companion)

James Suckling – A beautiful array of fresh, ripe blackcurrants and dark cherries with subtle wood spices and a liquorice thread. The palate has such smoothly rendered tannins and a very juicy core of fresh, dark plums and blackcurrants. Really impressive, velvety tannins. Drink or hold. Screw cap. 96 points. Nick Stock, JamesSuckling.com June 2019

The Wine Front – 'It's the blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (56%) and shiraz (44%) that could take on all-comers.Stand aside. There's a freight train of flavour here and while its brakes are hydraulic its momentum is enormous. For the love of grapes. A huge swerve and plum and blackcurrant flavour comes drenched in cedar wood, mocha and vanilla, though its top notes of tobacco and bay shine throughout like the top edge of wave. Will you take a look at the nut-like tannin on this job. This has more texture than a biscuit, more common than a keyboard. It's sheer old-new-school Aussie red wine brilliance. Rated: 97 Points Tasted: August 2021 Alcohol: 14.5% Drink: 2026 - 2044+' - Campbell Mattinson, Winefront

Huon Hooke – Very deep, dark, youthful purple/red colour with a rich, complex, profound bouquet that has a substantial oak input but not overdone—given the concentration of flavour. The palate flavour persists a very long time. It’s firm and youthful, needs more time, and promises much for the future. Dark berries galore: rich and ripe and very, very attractive. The Real Review, 23 March, 2021

World Wine – This Tempranillo has enticing aromas of raspberry and cherry cola. The wine is lifted and aromatic, reminiscent of blue and red fruits, soft and textural with fine integrated tannins.

James Halliday – "From six estate blocks, 50% on sand, 50% ironstone. Destemmed and mechanically sorted whole berries and 20% whole bunches open-fermented with a splash of viognier, 10 months in French oak (20% new). Dark fruits with earth, chocolate and licorice nuances. Sensational price." - James Halliday (Halliday Wine Companion)

The Wine Front – Blackberry and blueberry, spice and aniseed, a lick of vanilla. Full bodied, but kind of smooth with it, dark chocolate and black olives, balanced acidity, and deep fleshy tannin rolling onto the finish. Richness of fruit, grounded by the earthiness of Kay’s. It’s entirely convincing, and good.

James Halliday – "An incredibly dense and luxuriant palate grabs all the attention; how this has been achieved with 14% alcohol is anyone's guess, but I'm not disposed to argue, because the outcome is a totally serendipitous, supple, full-bodied shiraz replete with dark Swiss chocolate wrapped around luscious black fruits." Halliday Wine Companion '16

The Wine Front – Grown on a tiny block of (43 year old) McLaren Vale grenache. Hand picked/selected from the lowest yielding vines. 75% spent 35 days on skins. The remainder spent nine days on skins and was fermented cool. 120 dozen made. It’s a marvellous grenache. It has a bit of beef, a bit of flesh, and yet it promotes dryness, spice and structure ahead of fruit. It’s not thick or massively intense but it’s convincing and indeed powerful, by its own design. Licorice, graphite, flings of dried herbs and bushes, a campfire smokiness. It’s textural, it’s aromatic, it’s a treat. The linger of tannin and flavour here is quite superb. Your best glassware, please. 93 points, Campbell Mattinson, winefront.com.au

The Wine Front – "Pleasing symmetry between price and vine age. This 2017 is made from 125 year old vines. 746 dozen is the total production. I’d have Block 6 in my list of the greatest Australian Shiraz. I’ll offer that 2017 was a curious vintage for McLaren Vale reds, they’re a bit different, but high quality all the same. It’s just above medium bodied, but feels dense and compact in tannin. Blackberry, aniseed, subtle toasty oak, sage and floral perfume. It has what you might call a ‘coolness’ to it, distinct umami flavour also laden with spice. That usual ironstone and crushed rock sort of character you may find in Block 6 is there too. Finish is long, and the tannin brings it home. Wonderful character and vinous integrity. It’s a little different, yet typical." 95+ Points - Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, October 2019, Drink: 2022 - 2038+

Huon Hooke – Deep rich colour and a rich, concentrated bouquet led by smoky char-oak and the palate is likewise quite oak-driven, with medium to full-body and slightly gritty texture. Sweet raspberry fruit core. It could reward a little time in the cellar. It's a bit young at this juncture. The Real Review, 23 March, 2021