96pts James Suckling

Quite expressive and exotic, with red plums, blackberries and iodine, as well as dried herbs and nori, quite fragrant spices and currants. The palate has a sleek, dense and long feel, with impressive fruit intensity, delivered in such contained and impressively composed style. This has such length and intensity with a silky texture. Old vines underpin the style here. Drink over the next decade or more.

92pts Australian Wine Companion

Once the top of the tree. Today, usurped by a slew of single-vineyard offerings, at least in terms of price. Crushed black rock, licorice straps, clove and boysenberry. The tannins, more resolved than in past experiences. Fresher and less forced, too. Bravo! Forceful, to be sure. This is a wine with a future, for those who like warm-climate, powerful Australian shiraz.

92pts Wine Enthusiast

Rich, heady aromas of mint, mocha, ground pepper, plum and black currant preserves lead to an equally powerful, dense palate that’s wound in muscular, dusty tannins. This is a massive wine now, but everything is in place for it to go the distance—a decade, at least.

91pts Wine Spectator

Dense, with toothsome tannins that add a firm background to tangy blackberry and blueberry flavors, with notes of crushed rock and fresh earth, spices, tobacco and toasted cedar. Firming finish, where strong laurel bay leaf and sage accents linger.

Winemaker Notes

Dark fruits, dark plum, and lovely fennel seed notes on the nose. The sip reveals rich balsamic-glazed beets and damson plum, with white pepper in layers of complexity. Superb balance. Slaty, persistent, mineral-like tannins bring a generous framework for decades of cellaring. The wine’s considerable structure and depth will ensure that the fruit characters will develop over time revealing more complexity and providing immense interest.