Shiraz Syrah

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.

World Wine – The gorgeously perfumed bouquet shows Black Doris plum, sweet raspberry, violet, olive and toasted almond characters with a whiff of fragrant spice. The palate is concentrated, focused and delightfully flowing with outstanding depth and intensity, while remaining elegant and poised, leading to an extremely long expansive finish. Harmonious, seamless and flawlessly precise. Combining exquisite refinement and undeniable power, this latest offering is another stunning beauty under this iconic label. Sam Kim, Wine Orbit

James Halliday – "96 Points. Fruit from eight vineyards across the Barossa and Eden valleys, anywhere from 10-60% whole bunches depending on the batch, 3 weeks on skins and all French oak, 45% new. The wine stands out. Spice, fruit, pepper and wood smoke flavours explode onto the palate and ramp the seduction from there. It's both supple and fresh, but the fruit power is obvious. In short, it's really good. 14.5% alc. To 2034. - Campbell Mattinson, Halliday Wine Companion 2020.

The Wine Front –

The Wine Front – Cherry and mixed berries, a whiff of spice and dill, vanilla and toast. Medium bodied, confident in its delivery of classic Barossa Shiraz flavour, has a certain lightness with gently juicy fruit mixed in with umami flavour, fine-grained tannin, well-pitched acidity and a satisfying finish.

World Wine – A full array of foresty berry fruits here again, all layered in neat, fitted together with the precision and detail of an expert joiner; this has impressive polish. The fruit aromas run through red, blue and dark tones, chocolate and liquorice, a hint of spice.

The Wine Front – Plum and blue fruits, peanuts in dark chocolate, plenty of spice, touch of stalk and meaty funk, with a subtle floral perfume. Medium bodied, silky and well knit, with fine grained graphite tannin, balanced acidity, and an even finish of good length.

James Halliday – Matured for 12 months in new and used oak (88% French, 12% American). Bright crimson colour heralds a wine full of vitality; red berry flavours surge through the mouth, gauzy tannins in the background adding to the exuberant mouthfeel and length.

World Wine – Vivino

Robert Parker/Wine Advocate – The Guigals predict volumes of only 3.5 million bottles for the 2017 Cotes du Rhone, as good wine was harder to source than in 2016. It's still bright and primary, with cherry fruit seeming a bit one-dimensional at this stage, although there's a welcome hint of almond paste on the crisp finish. Range: 89-91

World Wine –

Antonio Galloni/Vinous – ‘Brilliant ruby-red. Spice-accented dark berry, cherry pit and succulent flowers on the perfumed nose. Fleshy and broad in the mouth but lively as well, offering sappy black raspberry and bitter cherry flavors that become sweeter with air. Closes gently tannic, with very good energy and persistence, leaving a spicecake note behind. Drink 2018- 2022.’

James Halliday – From 50–130yo vines in Ebenezer. Matured 16 months in new 95% French and 5% American oak barrels; unfiltered. Gloss and polish of superb black fruits, framed in superfine tannins are Ben Glaetzer's hallmarks. He continues to hone his talent at sustaining brightness and freshness, even in northern Barossa shiraz of monumental proportions. This represents one of his finest works yet. Bitter dark chocolate oak holds an enticing finish that ricochets with inky black fruits and licorice. Tyson Stelzer Published 13 August 2021

World Wine – Vivino

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

World Wine – Langton’s Classification VI: Excellent. The intensely-perfumed and muscular Aberfeldy Shiraz reflects the character of vineyard site as much as the personality of winemaker Tim Adams. The 1.6 hectare Aberfeldy Vineyard includes a large proportion of dry-grown, colonial vine stock planted by Wendouree’s Alfred Percy Birks in 1904. This ancient genetic material produces large berries and very high seed content. Vinification takes place in closed fermenters and is followed by 24 months maturation in new American oak. The rich, buoyant and spicy Aberfeldy Shiraz is a deeply-concentrated, opulent style with blackberry aromas, malty/cedary oak and a firm tannin kick. The underlying muscularity of structure is reminiscent of the Wendouree style.

The Wine Front – Gary Walsh - 94 Points - So purple. So good. It’s spicy, floral, liquorice, dark fruits and boysenberry, with a bloody ‘mineral’ character from the Mataro. Light grip of open-weave tannin, freshness and vigour, and a long shapely finish. Wonderful expression of Barossa here.

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.