“Fruit off the Hexham vineyard. An excellent, dark purple/garnet hue befitting the density of the wine. It’s no wallflower, built to last some distance and packed with cedary, sweet oak, ripe fruit and a kitchen cupboard full of spices. Despite its volume and richness, it has come together well, with the full-bodied palate flush with velvety plush tannins and lovely texture. 94 Points.”
Jane Faulkner, 2022 Halliday Wine Companion, August 2021 (2019 Vintage)
“A wild ride of flavour. Game, beet, black cherries, undergrowth and cloves. Cool and juicy through the palate, meaty and dry on the finish. Sweet-sour, too. Interesting. 90 Points.”
Campbell Mattinson, Halliday Wine Companion, August 2020 (2018 Vintage)
“R6WV28 clone exclusively provided the fruit in the barrels that made the ‘cut’ for this selection, with 40% of those being new. Sweet and toasty French oak aromas are upfront on the bouquet, but the variety has its say with ripe dark fruit and cool climate “gaminess”. There’s admirable depth and intensity of flavour on the palate, and it shows good length on the finish, but it would be nice to see the fruit emerge as the more dominant character as the wine ages.”
Halliday Wine Companion 2019 (2015 Vintage)
“Deepish red/purple colour. The bouquet is all about red fruits, straightforward and honest, slightly funky, with a touch of richness and refreshingly for this region, it’s not overpowered with whole-bunch character. Good intensity, softness, shape and balance. 92 Points.”
Huon Hooke, The Real Review, Oct 2017 (2015 Vintage)
“…Earthy and savoury characters are awash largely due to the whole bunches. Lead pencil, clove, fennel and fine spices take the lead. A hint of cardamom too. Forest berry fruit is soft and well balanced. A sweet dab of Caramello is imparted courtesy of the oak. Tannins are fine and dusty finishing a tad course but that savoury appeal continues to trickle through effortlessly. Still a bit tight, but be patient and hold on. It will only get better. 92 Points.”
QWine, August 2017 (2015 Vintage)
“…Capitalising on the warm vintage, and with a decent whole bunch element to give spice, this is quite a voluptuous wine, with the whispers of mint and lead pencil bouncing off ripe red fruit and cocoa powder oak with late, drying tannins. Don’t be fooled though, this is still a cool climate wine, the edges meaty, and the wine quintessentially mid-weight. But it’s mouthfilling, ripe and generous, even with a little warmth on the finish. End result is a complete package, and the finest wine yet from this label.”
Andrew Graham – Oz Wine Review (2015 Vintage)
