Our 2020 and 2021 wines continue to achieve excellent reviews from some of the biggest critics around the wine world. Erin Larkin, writing for the esteemed Robert Parker Wine Advocate, rated our 2021 Single Vineyard Secret Block Shiraz among some of the highest scores in a recent tasting. Read on below for the full reviews.
SINGLE VINEYARD SERIES
2021 Secret Block, Moppa Hills Shiraz – 97 points
“The 2021 Secret Block Wildlife Road Moppa Hills Shiraz is concentrated and delicious. It is full of
flavor, full of tannin and totally harmonious in its dialed-up volume of both. This is an excellent, superb
wine. It’s my favorite in this 2021 release.”
2021 Yacca Block, Eden Valley Shiraz – 96+ points
“The 2021 Yacca Block Menglers Hill Shiraz is from Eden Valley and veritably pours flavor and
concentration down the throat. This is compelling, intense and complex in its outlay of flavor, all the
while confined to a very precise tannic structure. A decant is a must—the wine shows it is compressed
and coiled within the glass currently, with the tannins only just starting to fan and splay at the very end
of this tasting. This is a remarkable wine.”
2021 Coach House Block, Greenock Shiraz – 95 points
“The 2021 Coach House Block Seppeltsfield Road Greenock Shiraz is huge, firm and savory. The
fruit speaks of blueberries and licorice, the tannins are earthy and unyielding, and the finish is minty—
like spearmint oil spritzed onto roasted black berries. It also has notes of cracked fennel seeds and
roast beef crust. It’s a lovely wine. (Coming back to this again, at the end of the tasting, this is the most
complete, concentrated and balanced wine of the lot. I can’t help but think that these wines just need
so much treatment: decanting, aeration, etc., for them to come alive. My points have come up from
the original score.)”
2021 Holy Grail, Seppeltsfield Shiraz – 94 points
“My, my, my, the 2021 Holy Grail Seppeltsfield Road Seppeltsfield Shiraz is a big wine. Nothing
else is expected of course, but still, it is significant in stature. It has black everything: cherries, berries,
resin, tar, tobacco, earth, rocks, tea, roast beef crust and chocolate. It’s an intense wine.”
2021 Dave’s Block, McLaren Vale Shiraz – 94 points
“The 2021 Shiraz Dave’s Block Blythmans Road Blewitt Springs is soft and littered with black
cherries, garden mint, licorice and red apple skins. It is sedate in the mouth, built around a core of
intense, pure, juicy, purple fruit. It finishes with clove and tobacco. It is reminiscent of the Kretek/clove
cigarettes in Indonesia—if you’ve ever tried, you’ll know what I mean. It is spicy, rich, full and long and
not for the faint of heart.”
2021 Waterfall Block, Adelaide Shiraz – 93+ points
“The 2021 Waterfall Block Waterfall Gully Road Burnside Shiraz is concentrated and solid. I
wouldn’t go so far as to say it is chunky, because there is curve and line here, but it certainly is
muscular and full throttle. The tannins are everywhere in the mouth; they scatter and disseminate as
soon as they are able, coating every surface in texture and flavor. I find this very pleasurable and
immediately pleasurable at that, but it doesn’t have the complexity or detail (or, indeed, restraint) of
some of the other wines in this release. It will age well. It has the patient strength of an icebreaker—not
built for speed.”
Read more about the Single Vineyard Series HERE
THE GARDEN SERIES
2021 Bella’s Garden, Barossa Valley Shiraz – 95 points
“The 2021 Bella’s Garden Shiraz is from the Barossa Valley and, like last vintage, shows all the earth
and might of the Barossa dirt. It has red earth, licorice, iodine, blood, layers of mulberry and
blackberry and metal shavings. Interestingly, it is sedate on the palate but very long. This suggests it
might need a decant or, at the very least, might benefit from one. It is a lovely wine that is big, buxom,
dense and persistent. I really love the finish—it is chewy and full, very satisfying.”
2021 Harriet’s Garden, Adelaide Hills Shiraz – 95 points
“The 2021 Harriet’s Garden Shiraz shows us an interesting combination of vintage and region. The
Adelaide Hills region is already a cooler area than many of the vineyard areas that surround it in
South Australia. Add to that the 2021 vintage, which was cool, precise and long. Yet despite the cool
year and the cool area, the wine is lush and concentrated, not in the least minty, which I was
expecting. Supple, lithe and opulent, this is a concentrated wine, which likely benefited from a long
hang time, given the overall lack of viticultural pressure that season. It offers notes of blackberry,
blueberry, licorice, raspberry, mulberry and tar. There’s a squid ink character to the tannins, almost
slippery and glossy. I prefer this to the 2020 iteration.”
2021 Charlie’s Garden, Eden Valley Shiraz – 94+ points
“The 2021 Charlie’s Garden Shiraz is from Eden Valley and smells just so like all the typicity and character of the region—crushed rocks, mulberry, licorice, raspberry, black tea, red apple skins and spring flowers. This is fresh and dark, pure and tannic. It has a lot going on, plenty of black turned earth. This is texturally full on, but it retains a delicacy within the fruit profile. It is really impressive, and things will only improve from here. This cooler vintage (as opposed to the warmer 2020) has stripped away some of the flesh of the wine, but it will outlive the 2020, I think. It is a purist wine.”
2021 Samantha’s Garden, Clare Valley Shiraz – 93+ points
“The 2021 Samantha’s Garden Shiraz hails from the Clare Valley, and with it comes dark chocolate, garden mint, velvety tannins and a lush/plush fruit profile. I love this series for the distinction of regional characters that each of the wines possess; the success of the series is the accurate portrayal of each region in the glass. The middle palate is where this wine really shines—it is chewy and induces another hasty sip. Very smart.”
2021 Lily’s Garden, McLaren Vale Shiraz 93 points
“The 2021 Lily’s Garden Shiraz is from McLaren Vale and smells at first like a lot of good-quality oak,with lashings of toasted coconut, nutmeg, crunchy chicken skin, nutmeg and cedar. In the mouth,however, the fruit washes over any notion of oak and splashes every part of the palate with purepurple flavor and color. This is a concentrated and opulent Shiraz, with all the trappings of McLarenVale. It is refreshing and very “made,” perfect. By the book.”
2021 Max’s Garden, Heathcote Shiraz – 92 points
“The 2021 Max’s Garden Shiraz has a distinct nose of cocoa powder, after-dinner mints and licorice bullets as well as chocolate, mint and licorice. In the mouth, the wine is firm and earthy, with plenty of fruit but an equal amount of tannin and grit. It’s a big, heavy-hitting Shiraz—it has a drover quality. Hard yakka.”
2020 Bella’s Garden, Barossa Valley Shiraz – 95 points
“The 2020 Bella’s Garden Shiraz is from the Barossa Valley and gives us all the savory red dirt, meat and exotic spice in the mouth. This is dense, almost bullish, with very good intensity of flavor in the mouth—incredible line, actually. The tannins are omnipresent and finely knit, although they are robust, an interesting contrast of the two things. It is bloody and velvety and morphs in the mouth. It has balanced tannin and is very plush.”
2020 Charlie’s Garden, Eden Valley Shiraz – 95 points
“The 2020 Charlie’s Garden Shiraz, from the Eden Valley, is plush, sweet and layered with round fruit. This is elegant and delicious, but pillowy and billowing blue fruit in the mouth lends it opulence and cushioning. It’s a super comfort wine. There are notes of rose petal, lavender and perfume as well as bacon fat, Earl Grey tea and crushed slate, etc. The tannins are fine—strong, structuring and supporting.”
2020 Samantha’s Garden, Clare Valley Shiraz – 94+ points
“The 2020 Samantha’s Garden Shiraz is from Clare Valley. It is spicy, full and loaded with back-palate concentration. It has notes of deli meat and is opulent and savory. The savory tannins balance the plush fruit. And it offers Sichuan peppercorn and lingering tannins. It matured in seasoned French oak. This is a superstar, delicious.”
2020 Lily’s Garden, McLaren Vale Shiraz – 94 points
“The 2020 Lily’s Garden Shiraz is from McLaren Vale and shows us all the shaved deli meat, blueberry pie, blackberry and spice we could want form the region. There is hoisin, too. It has a super plush and pillowed fruit profile again. It finishes clean but a bit fat; it doesn’t draw out and linger over the finish the way the Eden Valley does, but it does tail out with chinotto, dutch chocolate and salted licorice. Gorgeous finish.”
2020 Max’s Garden, Heathcote Shiraz – 92 points
“The 2020 Max’s Garden Shiraz is made with fruit sourced from a vineyard that is approximately 30kilometers north of the Heathcote township and is planted on deep Cambrian soil. The pick occurred two weeks after Michael’s Garden. This is black, brooding, savory and still bedded down on a plush fruit base, but the profile of the fruit is very different from the Max’s Garden (Adelaide Hills) tasted prior. It has soft but pliable tannins. This was in 10% new oak, all French, and it included 10% whole bunches for texture. This is diving into the deep end with darkness and weight here, however the structure within the mouth is elegant.”
2020 Harriet’s Garden, Adelaide Hills Shiraz – 91+ points
“The 2020 Harriet’s Garden Shiraz leads with cassis, tobacco, fresh compost, potting mix, blackberry and shades of aniseed on the nose. The tannins here are very fine and supple, and show finesse and elegance. There is still gravitas to the fruit through the finish, however it is based on a mid-weight profile and fresh acid. Elegant. Crunch. This was made with 50% whole bunches.”
Read more about the Garden Series HERE
THE PICTURE SERIES
2022 Gnarly Dudes, Barossa Valley Shiraz – 92 points
“The 2022 Gnarly Dudes Shiraz hails from Barossa and a wonderful season in 2022. This is concentrated and earthy but fresh, too, and the tannins that shape the fruit have a rose petal delicacy to them. This is really good, a giving wine—generous and satisfying.”
2022 Brave Faces, Barossa Valley GMS – 92 points
“The 2022 Brave Faces Grenache Mourvèdre Shiraz is spicy, sappy and structural, with lashings of raspberry seed, bramble, nettle, liquorice, mulberry and a dollop of olive tapenade. There is a nice string of tannins in the mouth, with a light-weight impact but plenty of line through the finish. This is demure, with lovely clarity. 13.8% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
2022 Angel’s Share, McLaren Vale Shiraz – 91+ points
“The 2022 Angel’s Share Shiraz is saturated with black cherry, raspberry, licorice and pink peppercorn-rolled pastrami. In the mouth, it is all of this: silky and spicy and concentrated but not heavy. Nicely done.”
Read more about the Picture Series HERE
