Auswan Creek Diplomat Shiraz 2019
Basileus Shiraz 2020
G 93
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
A thoroughly appealing Barossa Shiraz which will provide pleasure for the rest of the decade and a little more. Destemming and then fermentation in small oak fermenters with wild yeasts, before basket pressing to French oak for maturation. A dark maroon hue, the nose weaves through aromatic red fruits, raspberries, a lovely cherries and cream aspect and cranberries, but also blackberries and plums. A most appealing nose. As we move to the palate, rich flavours emerge. There is plenty of oak here, but well integrated, with notes of dark chocolate, leather and mulberries. A good concentrated style, with appealing ripeness, firm tannins and very good
length. Drink now–2034 Bec Hardy Garden Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
G 93
Delicious warm climate Cab, proving such a thing is most definitely possible. The colour here is a deep maroon. There is the merest flick of oak still evident on the nose, adding to the many components contributing to the complexity of the wine. A fleshy style, there are notes of roast meats, raspberries, cranberries, leather and dried herbs. The wine has a pleasing supple texture and impressive length with good focus, sleek tannins and we see more notes of strawberries emerge on the palate. This will provide excellent drinking, full of flavour, over the next six to 10 months. Drink now–2025 Bethany First Village Riesling 2024 G 93 Bone dry Eden Valley Riesling from a cracking vintage at a top price – what more could you want? Very pale lemon in colour, the wine offers pleasing aromatics with notes of limes, citrus blossoms, river stones, jasmine and wet slate. Good focus here and the wine has a delightfully slippery texture, with excellent length and balance, and seabreeze acidity. A fine Eden Valley Riesling which will drink beautifully for the next six to eight years. Drink now–2032 Bethany Blue Quarry Barrel Ferment Chardonnay 2023 G 93 A single vineyard located at high altitude in the Eden Valley, provides the fruit for this ever-so-impressive Chardonnay. Barrel fermentation with around a quarter of the oak, French, new. The wine underwent lees stirring for six months. A gleaming gold/green hue, the barrel ferment notes emerge on the nose with a lovely nutty/ cashew touch and a whiff of vanilla, all elegantly integrated. Stone fruits and peaches, with hints of figs and citrus, and a minerally backing are all evident. This is poised and intense, balanced and long in the finish. A rich and most attractive Chardonnay with hints of apple on the palate, it should drink beautifully for at least the next four to six years. Drink now–2030
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
114
The Vintage Journal – Regional Focus
South Australia 2024
115
Powered by FlippingBook