Even Balnaves baby blend carries its house style of structure and longevity. In the generous and appealing 2010 vintage, it captures impressive fruit definition, lifted fragrance and well-textured, firm, fine tannins. Merlot-dominant this year, it carries layers of crunchy mulberries, ripe blackcurrants and even notes of pepper. $18 at WineStar.
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This is a sumptuous and succulent McLaren Vale shiraz that presents an enticing offering of immaculate black fruits. The bouquet sings of black plums, juicy blackberries and a lift of perfumed violets, throwing to a gorgeously fruit-focused palate that lingers long and supple, supported by soft, fine-grained tannins. It seems the days of Geoff Merrill’s […]
readA miniscule production of just fifty cases mark a Wirra Wirra flagship of impressive black fruit profile, where plums and blackberries meet liquorice and dark chocolate. Poise and concentration unite as great intensity of black fruits linger long through a finish supported by very finely structured tannins.
readThere’s an alluring fruit focus to this tiny volume newcomer to Scarce Earth. Blackberry compote and mixed spice carry impressive fruit concentration through a long and finely structured palate. Seasoned oak lends structural support without interrupting fruit expression, which lingers supple and primary amid soft, fine tannins, making for an easy and early drinking style.
readHere’s proof in a bottle that McLaren Vale need not lean on oak, ripeness or impact to make a profound statement. There’s real restraint here, in a tightly coiled black plum, blackberry and black cherry guise; its old French oak invisible in flavour, lending a lightly-gauged touch of support to finely poised tannins and bright […]
readAn exactingly honed Road Block, built around a chassis of intensely firm, finely structured tannins that gradually relinquish their grip to reveal honed black plum and black cherry fruit. This is a consummately structured and textural shiraz that balances fruit ripeness and oak impeccably to a sophisticated and long-ageing end.
readIf it were possible to bottle the essence of McLaren Vale shiraz I imagine it would taste much like this, a classic and immaculately poised wine that personifies the region’s black fruit spectrum of plums, liquorice and black olives. These are united with an impeccably textured platform of silky fine yet superbly supportive tannins. The […]
readThere is only one patch of dirt on earth that musters this exotic, lifted spice profile, a flamboyant personality that prevails in spite of the seasons. Sarsaparilla, star anise, cumin, even Indian curry float over a core of immaculate black fruits and cocoa. The palate texture is a ravishing delight, finely structured and mouth-fillingly embracing, […]
readMcLaren Vale Scarce Earth spans a wider spectrum of prices than ever this year, but it’s here that things first start to get exciting. Brad Hickey has conjured impressive depth of concentrated plum and blackberry fruit, encased in a balanced structure of solid, firm tannins, finishing with good acid definition. Allow time for oak and […]
readFour-year-old French oak provides plenty of space for expressive, primary fruit integrity of black plums and blueberries to take to the stage, with a backing track of finely textured tannins, subtle dark chocolate oak and well-balanced acidity.
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