First Drop Mother’s Milk Shiraz 2023
G 93
This is a seriously good value Shiraz with, as is almost compulsory with these guys, fabulous packaging. The fruit comes from a range of regions, including Seppeltsfield, Kalimna and the Eden Valley. Maturation is for 10 months in older French oak hogsheads. The colour is dark red. The wine is generous and approachable with the nose giving us aromas of red berries, kirsch, warm earth, cloves, tomato bush and spices. It is plush and supple with balance and very good length. The palate sees a move to notes of milk chocolate and coffee grinds. Delicious drinking, the team suggests enjoying this over the next 5–8 years. Which is exactly what I had put in my notes, so who am I to argue. Drink now–2033 Forage Supply Co The Pooch Montepulciano 2023 G 93 Deep crimson. Intense raspberry, mulberry aromas with some bush garrigue notes. Flavourful plate with ample raspberry, mulberry fruits, chalky form tannins and underlying saline notes. Finishes chocolaty and crisp. Good Pooch. Drink now–soon Gatt Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 G 93 Cabernet Sauvignon from a single vineyard, maturation was for a year and a half in a mix of French and American oak. 245 dozen made. The colour is an opaque maroon centre, with a purple rim. The nose gives us notes of chocolate, tobacco leaves, cloves, graphite, leather and blackberries. There is very good oak integration throughout. The structure is seamless, the texture supple, with very good length and fine, firm tannins. Enjoy over the next decade. Drink now–2035 Genista Peritia Tempore Shiraz 2022 G 93 The team here released this wine to celebrate their 10th anniversary, and a worthy wine it is. In constructing this wine, the team put aside three barrels of Shiraz from the Barossa: one in new French oak, a second-fill American oak and the third, seasoned American oak. The colour here is a dark magenta and at this early stage we still have plenty of toasty oak evident. The nose also gives us notes of black fruits, cloves, chocolate, tobacco leaves, soy and blackberries. A supple texture, the palate sees the flavours move to the black olives, soy, axle grease end of the spectrum. The wine has very good length and sleek tannins and should drink well for at least the next 10 years, just in time for their next anniversary. Drink now–2035 Gibson The Smithy Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 G 93 The name is a nod to an old cottage which still sits on the family’s five-acre vineyard at Light Pass. For a lengthy period, it was home to the local blacksmith and his family. The colour is a bruised plum/purple. This is an earthy, savoury style, with notes of mushrooms, cloves, dry herbs and beef stock. The palate sees the emergence of black fruits, chocolate, blackberries and coffee grinds. Good focus, good balance and very good length are all present. This is a 10-year proposition. A wine for carnivores. Drink now–2035
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The Vintage Journal
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