Would I buy it? Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Why? It’s lithe and a little bony, a wine of acidity and some subtlety, refreshment but not instant gratification. Shiraz (the same grape as Syrah) is Australia's leading red grape and the wines made from it are often spectacular in both texture and flavor, with huge vivid waves of black pepper, black fruits, exotic spices, cigars, bitter chocolate and boysenberries. Australia's godfather of wine James Halliday guides us through this year's value drops. Photograph: svetikd/Getty Images. Would I buy it? It’s still plush, but it’s more an indication of intent rather than a fault. Enjoyment is still high. Deep, porty and black-fruited, the sweet vanilla oak a constant companion and just amping you the palate even more. Like biting into chocolate cake. 14.5%, $45. 14.5%, $75. The Penfolds 2020 collection is available from ... 389 has staked its own claim as a superb Australian red wine, and at 60, this is a “baby” no more. 15%, $17. Would I buy it? Of note, it is matured in 30% new oak for 15 months, although it feels much oakier than that. 14.5%, $60. I’m comparing everything to a high mark, a higher expectation for McLaren Vale reds – when this is ultimately a superb, impactful, highly polished full bodied wine. Another win for Bryan Currie. Oak integration A+ too. Plenty to give in the future and the texture is attractive enough too. Mid weight but with fruit density, the palate rounded and polished with some background oak to fill things out. Too bitter, maybe. 17.5/20, 91/100. By contrast, this comes from the Freeman vineyard at Prunevale. Best drinking: now onwards. Delicious wine. Currently, I write features for a variety of publications including National Liquor News, Gourmet Traveller WINE and the RAS, plus I'm a former Lifestyle FOOD channel wine expert. Plush. Would I buy it? 14.5%, $35. Gundog’s Canberra wines just get better (and better). Actually it’s probably more Pinot than Syrah, with cherry fruit and a real tang. 14%, $27. Tannins. Best drinking: now until whenever, wherever. 17.5/20, 91/100. White rather than black pepper. Lirac & Tavel 2019: Report and top scoring wines. Best drinking: now to fifteen plus years. 16.3%, $130. Your email address will not be published. Pure class. Gundog goes to the Moppity Vineyard. Would I buy it? The James Halliday Top 100 list includes an overview of the year in wine, looking at the major trends and the key issues facing grape-growers and winemakers. Worth a bottle. Would I buy it? I’d share a bottle. 18.5/20, 94/100. Would I buy it? A glass. 17/20, 90/100. 14.5%, $30. Why you should go to Morrisons for the best bottle of Shiraz Would I buy it? I so look forward to the Levantine Hill wines. Lots of flavour, as usual. 14%, $28. Would I buy it? An excuse to open something even more special? Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. 10 great Australian Shiraz buys from just £10… Saint-Joseph 2019: Report and top scoring wines. Indeed there is plenty of old school flavour here and it’s quite developed, the flavours heading towards brick dust and Old Gold. Luscious wine, very much in the riper, southern Vale mode rather than Blewitt Springs. By Katherine Scott | 5 months ago. Not my normally drink, but I admire the style greatly. Needless to say, I discovered wine, and my life evolved with a unique dual focus - wine and environment.Twenty years later and I spend my days wearing many (wine) hats, mostly as a writer, presenter and marketer. As the name suggests, this includes some whole bunches, which I think give this Shiraz more. Best drinking: from now. Would I buy it? Snappy packaging too. $18 well spent as well. McLaren Vale Shiraz from Scott Heidrich done well. 14.5%, $20. Firm and rather substantial wine, ultimately and will be popular for its heartiness. Good, long and mouthfilling, but not quite gold medal balance. Would I buy it? And it seems like Australian wine drinks are opting for red over white, with r ed varieties taking up 85 per cent of the list. There is a whole bunch spice on the nose which is a direct contrast to the mid palate fruit and fine vanilla oak seam. Required fields are marked *. There’s this concentration of fruit through the middle which is spot on. The only question is whether it’s a better wine than the Dalwood Shiraz. Best drinking: now to ten years. 13.5%, $35. A glass. I would tend to drink earlier rather than later myself but this style of understated Yarra Shiraz/Syrah doesn’t typically fall over in a hurry. The slight desiccation on the finish is my only quibble. Worth a glass or two. Even some leathery spice, which is welcome for a wine that can look un-regional. 18/20, 93/100. For this lineup I dug deeper into the sample pile, searching – perhaps blindly – for something beyond paint-by-numbers oak/fruit/added tannins in search of wines with charisma. Best drinking: now to ten plus years. 14.5%, $51. Medium bodied, full of flavour, the only downer is the warm alcohol. Cost: $700. Jason Schwarz dials up the Barossa flavour again. The Best Australian Wine of 2020: Hickinbotham The Peake Cabernet Shiraz 2018. But underneath its a surprise packet. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. If you're looking to buy the best red in Australia, it will set you back anywhere from $700 to $1000. See our top picks from Aldi’s 2020 autumn/winter press tasting below, featuring a super-value Argentinian Shiraz that won Silver at this year’s Decanter World Wine Awards, a delicious Portuguese red, great-value claret, crisp Greek white and a Champagne complete with gift box that’s perfect for Christmas. Quintessentially a savoury style, with dark fruit with more meat and rosemary than jubey fruit. Bursts of fruit. 2 2018. I like the cross regional thinking here. Styles. Would I buy it? No. This Shiraz is all Canberran fruit and it’s a flashy beast – a real statement wine. Actually, this tastes like cool climate Shiraz, albeit with Pyrenees mint. Mid weight, the palate generous with its red fruit but not overt, the flavours amiable and the style really quite appealing. Plays the Orange Shiraz vibe well, with slick raspberry fruit in very much a medium bodied, silken, maybe too lean mode. 18.5/20, 94/100. Saving the best until … But such a step up. Best drinking: now to many years. Much less extraction, much more fragrance, the alcohol not noticeable either with a hint of whole bunch spice for good measure. What, more Gundog? Best drinking: go now to ten plus years. 17/20, 90/100+. Slightly too oaky and punchy for big scores but pleasure here for sure. Gundog goes to the Moppity Vineyard. Possibly the most drinkable Shiraz I’ve had in a long time. Good. 18.5/20, 94/100. 13.2%, $32. Lots of layers here, cherry fruit, riper coffee oak, even slightly riper edges before a dark bitter finish. The top dog Pikes Shiraz and it’s THICK. This is what mod Australian Shiraz is about – ripeness, unmistakable generosity of flavour, but also delivered with a sense of shape and purpose. Best drinking: wait until the end of the year and then for the next seven years for a start. There’s a great story behind this block too. Just 84 cases produced! Wrattonbully Shiraz from the family vineyard near Joanna. Well worth a bottle. Best drinking: now to twenty plus years. For the cellar maybe, but wouldn’t be drinking it yet. A plump, just-bottled, sweet oak and sweet-fruited style of Barrosan red with instant appeal. Good. Very nice. Five outstanding Aussie wines under $25 for 2020. No. 17/20, 90/100. Reminds me of a cross between a Seppelt port and one of Chris Ringland’s Three Rivers reds. Instead, this is neat, composed and quite regal, instantly approachable yet lobbing up enough tannins and dark fruit to be compelling beyond today. It’s super smooth and polished, oak filling in every bump. It’s maybe a bit simple to be exceptional, but a good solid drink. I was a bit surprised at the shape this vintage. No. And Hunter-ness. December 16, 2020 After such a shit year, surely it’s time you spoilt yourself this Christmas? The reds on test were quite varied, from the gentle and sweet to the rich, ripe and oaky. Black Magic is a fitting title too – it’s like liquid molasses. 14.2%, $42. Lucky that they still have wines like this in the shed. Would I buy it? Not quite up to the same tier as the very well priced Pirathon Silver, but a bargain Barossa red. I just couldn’t finish more than a glass. 2014 Cool and late season after a warm summer.Good ripening gave intense aromatics and flavours. 17.7/20, 92/100. Shiraz thrives in moderate to warm climate areas. Mid palate torrents even, but in a profoundly medium weight unforced way. Lacquered alcoholic Shiraz alcohol. It’s like stepping back in time to 1998! Deep, oaky, licoricey. A big blast of minty purple fruit, the palate dense, chocolatey and very hearty, the finish warm and substantial even if it’s more medium bodied than full. Matured for 12 months in 25% new oak. Best drinking: now to fifteen more years. 13.5%, $35. Such a different wine to the Juxtaposed, even despite the very different vintage. Very good modern Yarra red. It’s maybe a bit singular (and unsubtle), but this is charming in its mode too – the right sort of powerful Barossan red. Shiraz is made in every Australian winemaking state from South Australia to Western Australia. Yes. magazine. Best drinking: now to eight plus years also. This is magnificent McLaren Vale Shiraz and a glorious Jackson Family contrast to the Hickinbotham Cabernet. But hey, this will turn heads and flashy as fuck. 14.3%, $65. Chocolatey and dense. 18/20, 93/100. Tasmania's House of Arras has been awarded the sparkling category winner this year, with their 99-point example; they also host three other wines in the top-rated list. Proper cool climate Shiraz/Syrah here from the Warramunda Vineyard in the Yarra. Best drinking: now to seven years. Top 10 Best Red Wines in the UK 2020 (Tesco, Waitrose and More) ... A gorgeous example of an Australian Pinot Noir from a cold climate, it's soft and elegant with distinctive cherry notes and a hint of tobacco. Such … More than that, this is the latest in a line of Balgownie evolutions (take a bow Tony Winspear). Your email address will not be published. 17.5/20, 91/100. Layers layers layers. Matthew Luczy: My top 10 fine wines of 2020. A new Taltarni era alongside this wine. Righto, last Gundog. Lavish too. As the name suggests, these are the Top 20 Shiraz of August 2020. Would I buy it? 13.5%, $35. Long and intense – which lifts the score – but remains somewhat hobbled by the pursuit of ripeness and oak. South Australia’s Barossa Valley is home to some of the oldest shiraz vines in the country and produces excellent examples, as seen below with the two of the leading wines coming from the region. But how do you drink more than a few glasses? Savoury. 17.7/20, 92/100. More tannins, more mouthfeel, and a longer finish; so… 17.5/20, 91/100. Dark, inky and ultra ripe. Add Bruce Jack Shiraz Malbec Wine 750Ml Add add Bruce Jack Shiraz Malbec Wine 750Ml to basket Save £1.00 Was £7.00 Now £6.00 Offer valid for delivery from 08/12/2020 until 02/01/2021 Offer Good tannins to finish, if minty. Well, not so fast. Has great tannins(d’Arenberg tannins are excellent. Easily the juiciest and most approachable of the super premium Balgownie Shiraz. It’s an odd, expensive wine though – I can’t get my head around where it’s meant to sit. Love the density through the mid palate, though it just tends a bit baked to finish for my tastes. I’d share a bottle. 14.5%, $?. A glass. Many premium Australian sparkling wines are regarded as being on par with the finest in the world. White pepper powder as the first character but it’s not peppery in the rotundone mode. Sweetwater sits awkwardly in the Hungerford Hill portfolio – I almost feel like it would be better as Hungerford Hill Sweetwater, though Sweetwater is a very different estate (with a grand house on the property too) I digress. 18.5/20, 94/100. I’d share a bottle. Red fruit. Woah. I now judge at wine shows around the world, sit on the Australian Wine List of the Year awards panel and was once a Wine Journalism Young Gun (but baby that was years ago). I’d share a bottle. Ultra-dense sweet fruit, the alcohol spreading through the finish. Lovely red fruit, but less warmth would be better to nail the balance. Hallowed earth. Would I buy it? Really. Bright red fruits, rosemary, mint and purple texta. Paul Bridgeman knows how to deliver finesse and charm, both of which this wine has. This has changed remarkably. Spends 10 months on older oak. The range review is complete across Australia and New Zealand, Loire, Burgundy, rosé, Champagne and sparkling wine, with other categories and regions to follow during the remaining months of 2020. A few Christmas Wines, Beers (2020 Edition). From the oldest plantings on the now 50-year-old Bendigo estate, with 1.5% Viognier in the mix. Plus sign important as the structure is very sound. Maybe a little warm is my only quibble. Wines Made By Women— Victoria James, Beverage Director at Cote, author, and co-founder of Wine Empowered. Will be popular. I don’t notice the alcohol until the last flavour, the palate oak smoothed and very ripe. Sourced from old vines in Marananga you can almost guess the script here – luscious fruit, chocolate bullets oak, the palate silken with ripe fruit and oak filling every crevice. 13.5%, $200. The Bass River Estate is next to the Bass River’s west bank. The 2020 James Halliday Australian Cabernet Challenge Regional Winners are: Adelaide Hills Best of Region: Wines by Geoff Hardy, 2018 K1 By Geoff Hardy 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon – 95 points . Would I buy it? Best drinking: now to maybe eight years for a start. Best drinking: now to fifteen years. Best drinking: I’d wait five years and drink over twenty plus. I’d share a bottle. Really lush fruit. Moderate. Best drinking: I’d wait a few more years for the oak to settle in and then drink over twenty. 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