"Matthew Jukes 19.5/20. on the release of the 2021 Vintage.
"This wine comes from the Moreton Bay block and is destemmed, crushed and chilled before it goes into the historic slate fermenters. It wins three punch-downs per day and then spends 16 months in old hogsheads; so far, so ancient! The result is one of the most remarkable Shiraz experiences of 2023. With unhinged levels of pepper and seaweed accompanying astoundingly adroit Shiraz fruit, this is one of the most dynamic and expressive showstoppers I have tasted in all of my years dunked in McLaren Vale Shiraz and to think it has only just started on its journey. The mind boggles. Do whatever you can to taste this wine.""
From the Moreton Bay block in the Upper Tintara Vineyard in the Blewitt Springs sub-region, this is the fourth release of this wine that was fermented in the old slate fermenters, which were built back in 1863 (they fell out of use in 1927, but Andrew Hardy restored one in 2018). This was from the winery used by Andrew’s great-great-grandfather.
The fruit was hand bucketed into the fermenter, regularly hand-plunged, then bucketed back out before pressing into barrel, 20 months in French oak. Just 4,900 bottles were made of this superb Shiraz. Dark maroon. The nose is all chocolate, cassis, cigar box, tobacco leaves and blackberries. There is good complexity here, and knife-edge balance while exhibiting such richness and a supple texture, seamless and utterly gorgeous before an extremely long finish.
