Auswan Creek Diplomat Shiraz 2019
G 93
Australia is incredibly fortunate to be able to take advantage of so many old vines and plenty of them are to be found in the Barossa Valley. This is from 70-year-old vines and made by the highly respected Ben Riggs. The wine spent a year maturing in older oak. 18,000 bottles – very heavy bottles – under cork. A deep red/maroon colour, this is all plush, ripe flavours, with decent lashings of oak, in the process of integrating well. A well balanced wine with notes of soy, warm earth chocolate, aniseed, black fruits and mulberries. There are hints of maturity, with a slippery texture and fine acidity. A wine of medium length, this should drink well for the next eight to 12 years. Drink now–2036 Barossa Boy Double Trouble Shiraz Cabernet 2022 G 93 Deep crimson. Black cherry, marzipan, touch minty aromas. Full bodied and densely concentrated wine with abundant choco-berry, minty flavours, chocolaty textures and some cedar/marzipan notes. A tannin slick at the finish with plentiful juicy fruits. 14.5% alc Drink now–2032
Barons of Barossa Triplex Cabernet Sauvignon 2022
G 93
Deep crimson. Powerful nose of cedar, blackcurrant, cigar box. Big, full-bodied and muscular, showing depth of blackcurrant, blackberry underpinned by plentiful grainy tannins. Ample and generous, leading to a long finish. 14.5% alc Drink now– 2032 Barons of Barossa Triplex Grenache 2021 G 93 Medium crimson. Lifted, red cherry pastille, raspberry, graphite with a hint of sundried tomato and meaty note. Generously flavoured wine, buoyant with smooth strawberry, raspberry and musky plum flavours. Appealing fruit sweetness with al dente tannins, sherbet acidity and a fresh chalky finish. 14.5% alc Drink now–2032 Basileus Barossa Valley Grenache 2020 G 93 Apparently Basileus is Greek for Kings, or so it was once. And of course, the Barossa is the King of Australian wine regions (if one wished to be difficult, one could wonder where that leaves the Clare Valley and their Riesling, under this label, but perhaps we’ll move past that). The fruit went into small open fermenters before maturation in older French oak puncheons. The colour of this wine is crimson/ garnet. The nose gives us notes of spices, strawberries, herbs, red fruits, some earthy notes and leather. This is a slightly fleshy style, which is very much from the savoury style which the region can offer. Good balance, a lingering finish and an intriguing combination of silky and sandy tannins. Enjoy this now and for the next four to six years. Drink now–2030
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The Vintage Journal – Regional Focus
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