2018 Shiraz The Dead Arm
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Tasting notes
Tatachilla and Blewitt Springs. Average vine age 42 years. Mostly own roots. Multiple vineyards/growers. Approximately 3.3 t/ha. Five-tonne open fermenters with header boards, oaked for 18 months in new and old French oak barrels. Deep garnet. Nicely dusty overlay on the ripe black fruit and eucalyptus. Some undergrowth, lots of dark-fruit sweetness still. On the palate, chalky tannins and high acidity, which seems slightly out of sync with the rest of the wine. Sweet and sour on the finish. (JH)
Critic scores
Average Score
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
This young, tightly coiled 2018 Shiraz is far from ready to drink. Right now, it is a heady mix of fruit, oak, lavish tar, licorice and warm slate aromas wrapped up in a thick blanket of coconut oak. That impressive flavor intensity is well supported by weighty tannins through a seriously long finish. Bold and embryonic, this needs at least ten years, if not more, to flower.
Quite expressive and exotic, with red plums, blackberries and iodine, as well as dried herbs and nori, quite fragrant spices and currants. The palate has a sleek, dense and long feel, with impressive fruit intensity, delivered in such contained and impressively composed style. This has such length and intensity with a silky texture. Old vines underpin the style here. Drink over the next decade or more. Screw cap.