Wine Advocate | Erin Larkin

Erin Larkin was born and raised in Perth, Western Australia, and reviews the wines of Australia and New Zealand. Prior to joining The Wine Advocate, she was a reviewer for James Halliday Wine Companion, where she focused on Western Australia and regions in South Australia, including Clare Valley, Coonawarra, the Limestone Coast and others. – WA

Australia: New Releases June 2026

One of the upsides to tasting wines for "new release" reports is the freedom to link wines, regions, styles or vintages together, in any way I like, to suit an idea that I am currently working through, chewing on, pondering. Sometimes, as was the case here, it was simply to cluster great wines together to satisfy my curiosity and to reassure myself, yet again, that what is happening out there in the vineyards and wineries is inherently and deeply good. - EL

RARE RELEASES

2022 Spirit of Place - 96 points
1918 Vines, Ebenezer, Barossa Valley Shiraz
"The 2022 Spirit of Place Shiraz leads with a plush nose redolent of raspberries and mulberries, cocoa, pink peppercorn, paprika dolce and red earth. The tannins show a silky freshness on the palate, flowing unbroken through the finish. This is a very good wine here. The vines for this cuvée were planted in Ebenezer in 1918. 14.2% alcohol, sealed under Diam." Drink Date: 2026 - 2039

2022 Invenienda - 95 points
Clos Block, Seppeltsfield, Barossa Valley Shiraz
"The 2022 Invenienda Shiraz hails from the Sur Echalas Holy Grail vineyard in Seppeltsfield, Barossa Valley. Aromatically, the wine leads with black cherry, campfire, blackberry, licorice and char. The tannins are gritty and earthy in the mouth, and the wine shows a distinct smokiness here that prevails through the finish. This is complex, unusual and persistent, showing a cavalcade of characters that announce this as being a distinct wine. It has paprika dolce, clove, peppercorns and notes of bone broth/marrow. Tasted from bottle 0001 of 1,175. 14.4% alcohol, sealed under Diam." Drink Date: 2026 - 2037

THE FLAGSHIP SERIES

2021 Ares - 96 points
Barossa Valley Shiraz
"The 2021 Ares Shiraz is silty and dark, spicy and persistent. The palate is attractively mineral and layered with notes of graphite, sweet pouch tobacco, blackberry and licorice. The length is very good too. This is a lovely wine. The monstrously heavy bottle suggests a wine possessed of a bigger ego (i.e., more aggressively extracted, more oak, more fruit, more everything), yet this feels decidedly effortless and earthy. It is very good. 14.3% alcohol, sealed under Diam." Drink Date: 2026 - 2041

2021 Aphrodite - 96 points
Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
"The 2021 Aphrodite Cabernet Sauvignon hails from the benevolent 2021 season, and aromatically it leads with cassis, cocoa, pomegranate, shaved coconut and sweet roasted game. In the mouth, the wine shows some green aspects—though the final alcohol would not suggest this—and the tannins show a chewiness/tackiness that drives this point home. The wine is balanced, though, and it is powerful too. It feels as if it will age tremendously well. 14.6% alcohol, sealed under Diam." Drink Date: 2026 - 2041

2021 Aerope - 96 points
Barossa Valley Grenache
The 2021 Aerope Grenache is red-fruited on the nose, with an abundance of dried rose petals, kicked red earth and exotic spices (star anise, clove, cinnamon, etc). The tannins show real presence on the palate, though finely wrought and seamlessly integrated into the fruit. The palate shows impressive balance, making for overwhelmingly attractive drinking. This is a beautiful wine. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under Diam. The bottle/glass for the Aerope, Aphrodite and Ares cuvées are incredibly heavy—some of the heaviest glassware I am sent each year from across both Australia and New Zealand." Drink Date: 2026 - 2036

SINGLE VINEYARD SERIES

2023 Yacca Block - 97 points
Menglers Hill, Eden Valley Shiraz
The 2023 Yacca Block Menglers Hill Shiraz hails from what feels like the top of the world—it's really just the top of Mengler's Hill, but the view is spectacular, offering perspective on the rest of the Barossa Valley floor and some of the Eden Valley too. The site is elevated—around 500 meters above sea level, if memory serves correctly—and windswept, and all of it becomes evident in the wine. Pink quartz and ironstone in the soils play their part too. Aromatically, the wine leads with raspberry leaf tea, fresh mint leaf and tapenade, while the palate shows a very attractive suppleness of tannin. While the wine is certainly plush, it shows an inherent minerality and rockiness, and this is perhaps one of my favorite aspects of Eden Valley—its connection to ground. 14.2% alcohol, sealed under Diam." Drink Date: 2026 - 2038

2023 Coach House Block - 96 points
Seppeltsfield Road, Greenock, Barossa Valley Shiraz
"The 2023 Coach House Block Seppeltsfield Road Greenock Shiraz is spicy and fine on the nose, showing rose petals and pomegranate, wet asphalt and graphite. The tannins are silky and silty, framing the fruit beautifully through the lingering finish. The 2023 season was cool and wet, imbuing these wines with levity and delicacy. They wear it well. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under Diam." Drink Date: 2026 - 2039

2023 Secret Block - 96 points
Wildlife Road, Moppa Hills, Barossa Valley Shiraz
"The 2023 Secret Block Wildlife Road Moppa Hills Shiraz is floral, depicting rose petals and pomegranate, cedar and violets. The palate shows immense structure, and yet it does so with finesse. This is a beautiful wine—it has hutzpah yet also restraint. It is good. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under Diam." Drink Date: 2026 - 2038

2023 Kraehe House Block - 94 points
Neldner Road, Marananga, Barossa Valley Shiraz
"The 2023 Kraehe House Block Neldner Road Shiraz is tannic and intense, with a purity of fruit despite the firmness of structure. The 2023 season was cool and wet, yet this is plush and ripe, with all the spice and depth one would expect of a warmer year. This is very good and detailed. 14.4% alcohol, sealed under Diam." Drink Date: 2026 - 2038

2023 Waterfall Block - 94 points
Waterfall Gully Road, Burnside, Adelaide Shiraz
"The 2023 Waterfall Block Waterfall Gully Road Burnside Shiraz leads with flowers and dried herbs, some dried mint, notes of camphor, blackberry and pipe resin. In the mouth, the tannins are fine, and they reinforce some of the notes on the nose, primarily licorice/camphor/dried herbs. There's something distinctly herbal bout this wine, despite the flow of plush black fruit. It is very good. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under Diam." Drink Date: 2026 - 2038

2023 Holy Grail - 93 points
Seppeltsfield Road, Seppeltsfield, Barossa Valley Shiraz
"The 2023 Holy Grail Seppeltsfield Road Seppeltsfield Shiraz is charry and black on the palate, with savory tannins and black fruit. The tannins feel almost ashy in their texture, and the fruit exists squarely at the blackberry/blueberry/mulberry end of the spectrum. This is an interesting iteration of this wine. The 2023 season was cool and wet, so perhaps it is the character of the cooper that is perceived here, given that the fruit feels a little more delicate than usual across the board. 14.4% alcohol, sealed under Diam." Drink Date: 2026 - 2033