This is grown at the Oakridge home vineyard, where the shiraz is planted to 5200 vines/hectare. 30% whole bunches. This is such a serious syrah. It’s a wow for its intensity of flavour and also for its intensity of character. It’s all peppers, spices, nuts and mescal notes but it’s powered by graphite and cherry-plum fruit flavour, with infusions of dark chocolate also playing throughout. It’s silken as a general rule but then it’s grunty and assertive with tannin. It’s a full box and dice rendition of the savoury, cool climate shiraz genre. If it was a movie it would be something like Reservoir Dogs. My final thought was a descriptor wrapped in a vibe: blood red roses soaked in blood red blood. I think I see iodine and flowers here. Truth is, I see a lot of things, and all of them are good.

Mount Edelstone

The 2021 is an absolute stunner from a great vintage and I've no doubt that this will age gracefully for decades. The length of flavour with this release is quite something; the fruit is sleek, plush and on-point pure. Blackberry, Doris plum and black cherry layer with spice and hints of sage, bay leaf, pepper, olive tapenade, anise, violets and stone. Velvety and graceful in its flow on the palate with a fresh mineral cadence and superfine, powdered granitic tannins for support. It'll go down as one of the greats.