What I like about this wine is the depth and richness of its fruit. Forget reflexively fashionable words of the moment like “elegant” and “restrained” and instead revel in old school McLaren Vale Shiraz, complete with bold oak flavour and lusciously abundant fruit. A slightly lifted nose shows cedar and toasted coconut, dutch cocoa and very squishy mulberries. There’s a raw, sappy edge to the aroma (and indeed palate) that speaks of youth more than anything else, and which should calm down with a few months’ rest. 

In the mouth, quite strikingly full and fruit-driven. The entry is slippery and dark, plum fruit mixing it with vanilla oak and hints of licorice. Flavours open out through the middle palate, with a wide range of fruit notes — ranging from raspberry to plum to much darker berries– combining in a liqueur-like expression of notable sucrosité. Underlying this sweet fruit is a savoury note that reminds me of tarragon. It’s quite distinctive, in fact, and satisfyingly regional too. Oak is supportive and acid surprisingly firm. Tannins are of the ultra-fine, soft variety, making the wine approachable despite its young flavour profile. Time will be of benefit, though, as its constituent parts operate somewhat independently at present. A really long, delicious finish follows an after palate that sings with fresh fruit juice.

A bit less showy than its Reserve sibling, this wine possesses the easy flow I look for from this maker combined with the characterful fruit one expects from a single vineyard wine. I like.