2020 The Armagh Shiraz
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Tasting notes
Inky black colour, showcasing the concentrated black and blue fruits that reflect another low yielding vintage. Spiced damson, black cherry and raspberry, set against charcoal, bay leaf, crayon, liqourice and a touch of crushed rose petal and oyster shell. Plenty of tannins here, but as ever The Armagh knows how to inject just enough air and acidity in between them to give contrast and texture, and to draw the flavours out on your tongue. 100% French oak, Tom Barry winemaker, bottled unfiltered and unfined.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
More reviews and scores
The 2020 The Armagh Shiraz is sealed under Stelvin. While the cork trials continue, the main release in Australia is under screw cap. And thank goodness. The fruit! This is so good, with less oak, more skin and ductile tannin—really awesome, superior tannin. It’s been in bottle for 12 months, and it still looks like a barrel sample. It is amazingly fresh and tight. It's purple, blue, high-toned and super bright. It has 14.1% and matured for 18 months in 82% new and 18% one-year-old French oak hogsheads (300 liters) and puncheons (500 liters).
This is still eye-poppingly youthful, but the spectrum of blue and black-fruit aromas is already like watching an IMAX movie. Touch of iodine. Amazing interplay of concentrated fruit, fine tannins and lively acidity give this great brilliance. Super-long finish. Drinkable now, but best from 2024. Screw cap.
The 2020 Shiraz The Armagh is an excellent result for the vintage. It has an appealing, open-knit upfront generosity as it offers up aromas of baked earth and mulberry, topped by black slate with a touch of gum leaf. Fine oak treatments keep everything in place. This is an energetic young Armagh thanks to tangy acidity, which provides flavor impact before building fleshy textures up to a strong and complete finish. The 2020 is already approachable but has a long future ahead.
About the producer
Jim Barry is one of Australia’s legendary wine estates. Based in the Clare Valley, Barry was the region’s first qualified winemaker and pioneer of the valley, which has since become a benchmark region for Riesling, as well as being home to some of the world's finest Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.