Heathvale Estate The Angry Rabbit Flip a Coin Shiraz 2023
Hemera Estate Single Vineyard GSM 2021
G 93
G 93
Deep inky purple. Intense and lifted bouquet, blueberry, mulberry, blackberry with overtones of wild strawberry. Juicy and bright, offering vibrancy and freshness, energy and percussion. Tannins are supple. Falls away slightly towards the finish. Well balanced and refreshing. 14% alc Drink now–2029 Heggies Vineyard Estate Chardonnay 2023 G 93 A Chardy headed for its fortieth anniversary (that is a big deal for Chardonnay in Australia), this is all Eden Valley. 11 months in French oak barriques, 34% new. Pale lemon with green flecks in colour, there is some cinnamon/nutmeg/hazelnut oak notes, with lemon custard characters and stone fruits and a minerally drive behind it. An appealing supple and slightly creamy texture, there is balance and a long, clean finish with intensity, which lingers nicely nine to seven years ahead of it. Drink now–2031 Heggies Vineyard Estate Riesling 2023 G 93 A famous and reliable name for EV Riesling if ever there was one. As ever, the backing is a crucial component, minerals and chalk, with the vineyard based on quartz. An attractive straw hue, the nose gives us notes of spices, stone fruits, crisp green apples and citrus, notably lemon. More generous and approachable in style, than lean and pristine, it is well balanced and offers crunchy acidity. The intensity is consistent for the full length of the wine. Excellent length with a lingering finish, this will provide 10 years of pleasure. Drink now–2034 Hemera Estate 1912 Vines Grenache 2022 G 93 Old vine Grenache is a wonderfully thrilling style, one of the hottest wines on the planet. It is easy to see why with gems like this. From a single vineyard with grapes dating back to 1912, after fermentation, the wine goes into a combination of new and older French oak puncheons for a year and a half. The colour of this wine is a deep red/crimson. The nose leads us to spicy notes, strawberries, dry herbs, hints of earth and red fruits. Bright raspberry notes emerge as the wine spends time in the glass. There is good concentration here and the wine is well balanced and has excellent focus. There are sleek tannins, quite soft, with a fine line of acidity which runs the length, right through to a lingering finish. Enjoy this for the next six to eight years. Drink now–2032
A very fine example of this wonderfully popular blend, it is great to see a wine which has some age under its belt (okay, even if it is only a few years), from a cracking vintage, at this price. The blend is 47% Grenache, 27% Shiraz and 26% Mataro. The three varieties were all made separately and matured in a range of French and American barrels for nine months, before the team blended the components. Dark garnet hue, this is a wine of depth. The nose offers delightful chocolate notes with a hint of oak still slowly but surely integrating. There are mocha, cassis, vanilla, blueberry, coffee bean and soy characters evident. A sinuous texture, we see the dominance of choc-cherry flavours on the palate. A wine with impressive length, which should provide pleasure for at least the next six to eight years, this is, to put it simply, really delicious. Love it. Drink now–2032 Hemera Estate Single Vineyard Shiraz 2021 G 93 A single vineyard Barossa Shiraz from a quality producer in a great vintage? Expectations are inevitably high, so it is comforting to see this wine more than match them. Maturation was in a combination of 300-litre American oak hogsheads and 500-litre French oak puncheons, for 27 months. Very dark maroon, the nose exhibits notes of chocolate, black fruits, spices, soy, cloves, leather, graphite, and cassis. The wine is supple and balanced with excellent intensity, and yet it also offers some finesse. There is considerable length here, and the wine also maintains its intensity throughout, with sleek tannins on the lingering finish. Good focus and energy make this an impressive drink. It will provide great pleasure for at least eight
to 10 years. Drink now–2034 Hemera Estate Home Block Shiraz 2019
G 93
The Home Block was planted 30 years ago. After fermentation, the wine goes into a range of varying French oak barrels, though most are new, for a period of 19 months. The team do a thorough barrel selection before the final blending. An opaque maroon hue, we have an array of aromas emerging – black fruits, chocolate, cloves, warm earth, mulberries, iron filings, soy and coffee grinds. A wine which is already exhibiting a little complexity, and is well focused, there is fine balance, satiny tannins, a lingering finish and excellent length. This is a very fine Barossa Valley Shiraz, which will drink beautifully for at least the next 10 to 12 years, likely considerably more. Drink now–2036 Henschke Peggy’s Hill Riesling, Eden Valley 2024 G 93 Pale colour. Fragrant bitter lemon, hint grapefruit aromas with herb oil notes. Fresh lemon, lime, grapefruit flavours, fine loose knit bitter textures, attractive mid palate volume and fresh long crunchy mouthwatering acidity. Finishes bittersweet. Textural and high tensile with very good density and flow. Could benefit from a few years of bottle age. 11.5% alc Drink now–keep for a while (2034+)
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The Vintage Journal – Regional Focus
South Australia 2024
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