2020 Reserve Shiraz

winemaker's note

The Reserve Shiraz comes almost entirely from our old vine central Wilyabrup vineyard, planted in 1972. A wine of great poise, power, yet fine detail. My favourite Reserve Shiraz to date.

Julian Langworthy, Chief Winemaker

colour

Deep purple with a bright crimson rim.

aroma

A complex array of warm spices such as cinnamon and star anise, underpinned by deep dark blood plums and cedar.

palate

Rich, dark brambly fruits and plums intermingle with savoury pepper and wood smoke. The tannins are powder fine and frame a medium-bodied, smooth mouthfeel that lingers on the palate. A wine equal parts great poise and power.

cellaring

Optimum drinking within three to ten years of vintage.

vintage

2020 was a tricky vintage for life in general with lockdowns, split work forces and all manner of challenges but it did make for some very lovely wines in Margaret River.

A steady, relatively warm season, punctuated by a couple of solid rainfall events, resulted in one of the very best Shiraz seasons in our amazing region. The Shiraz vineyards largely loved the natural moisture along with the warm temperatures and the resulting fruit has great flavour with perfectly ripe tannin structure.

winemaking

This wine is almost entirely from our old vine central Wilyabrup vineyard planted in 1972. The fruit was hand-picked and varying amounts of whole bunches were employed in small open top fermenters.

A minimalist approach in the winery included only twice daily plunging and pressing after 12 days on skins to a mixture of new and seasoned French oak. The individual parcels were kept separate and aged on lees for 12 months until the final selections of the parcels were made.

The final blend incorporates a combination of 30% and 100% whole bunch fermented batches allowing for a wine of both great depth and complexity.

region

Margaret River

variety

Shiraz

analysis

• Alcohol: 14.5%
• pH: 3.69
• TA: 5.90 g/L

Rare venison with mushroom ravioli and celeriac puree.

Royal Hobart Wine Show 2021

James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion 2023

Hand picked from a single block on the estate's 1972 plantings in central Wilyabrup, matured for 12 months in new and used French oak. This is as powerful as any of its breed, with the blackest of black fruits and tannins normally the confines of cabernet sauvignon, French oak lost in the wash.

96

Ray Jordan, The West Australian Wine Guide 2021

So much black fruit concentrated into a seamless, voluptuous palate. Plum and licorice with a liqueur chocolate addition and a splash of glazed fruit cake. The palate is beautifully integrated, with powdery tannins and liberal oak working together. It's a pup, but with plenty of aging potential if you wish. 

95

Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front 2021

It’s grown on vines that were planted in 1972, which is remarkable in Margaret River terms. Wilyabrup sub-region.

It’s a cracking red wine. Just fantastic. It’s strong, bold, firm and complex. Tannin, lots of tannin, muscular with it. Cherries into plum into straight-out kirsch into peppercorn, woodsmoke and cedar. It’s fractionally reductive, to positive effect. It will live and develop over many a yonk. This is a wine that goes for gold.

95