Wine Enthusiast – October 2019

BUYINGGUIDE

148 | WINE ENTHUSIAST | OCTOBER 2019

92

McGuigan 2016 Hand Made Batch No: 11

Shiraz (Langhorne Creek). For full review

see page 130. Cellar Selection.

abv: 14% Price: $40

92

Torbreck 2016 Descendant Shiraz (Barossa

Valley). Descendant comes in at nearly

half the price of Torbreck’s top wine, RunRig, and

is actually a more characterful wine, full of earthy

meaty funk that makes it less polished but overall

more interesting than Runrig. Rich and extroverted,

it leads with raspberry jam and roasted beet aromas

along with spicy cedary oak, damp earth, mint and

florals, thanks, perhaps to being crushed with Viog-

nier skins. The palate displays quite a lot of spicy

oak along with tight chalky tannins and loads of ripe

fruit and secondary characters. Drink 2021–2034.

Delicato Family. Cellar Selection. —C.P.

abv: 14.5% Price: $135

92

Torbreck 2016 RunRig Shiraz (Barossa Val-

ley). Torbreck is known for its rich, powerful

and unmistakably Barossa reds and the 2016 vintage

doesn’t disappoint. While addition of a little Viog-

nier is more evident on Torbreck’s Descendant wine

than on here, the Shiraz offers a deep well of ripe

plums and cherries, licorice, peppery spice and meaty

earthy green-herbal nuances, along with plenty of

toasty oak influence. The palate is plush, dense and

oaky, gripped tightly by savory granular tannins.

This needs time and plenty of it. Drink 2022–2039.

Delicato Family. Cellar Selection. —C.P.

abv: 15% Price: $225

91

Penfolds 2016 Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz (South

Australia). Although named after the original

Barossa vineyard from which it was sourced, this

wine—the oldest of Penfolds’s Bin series—is now,

like many in the brand’s line up, a multi-regional

blend from around South Australia. Inky-hued,

it oozes chocolate, anise, olives, dried violets and

black pepper. The fruit aromas arrive later, in the

form of cherries and blackberries. The palate is

rich and textured, a finely wound line of granular

tannins around plush berry fruit and a long finish.

Drink 2021–2030. Treasury Wine Estates. —C.P.

abv: 14.5% Price: $30

91

Sidewood 2016 Mappinga Shiraz (Adelaide

Hills). Sidewood’s Mappinga once again

delivers a solid Adelaide Hills Shiraz with perhaps a

little more ripeness than the previous vintage. The

nose is a well of chocolate, plums, black licorice,

and vanillin oak, with meaty, dried savory herbal

tones in the background. The barrel influence is

ever-present on the palate, but it nicely supports

the silky plummy fruit and gentle grip of savory

herbal tannins. A long chocolatey finish makes it

easy to reach for another sip. Drink now until 2027.

USA Wine West. —C.P.

abv: 14.5% Price: $45

91

Tait Wines 2013 Basket Pressed Shiraz (Barossa

Valley). This six-year-old wine neatly dem-

onstrates the capability of Barossa’s most muscular

Shirazes to mellow and morph when given proper

bottle age. The nose exudes aromas that are still

primary but are on their way towards a drier, more

complex life: tangy raspberries, plums and blueber-

ries laced with mocha and herbal tonic nuances.

The palate remains powerful but well balanced,

with much of the same fruit as on the nose, struc-

tured with fine focused tannins. Drink now with a

decanter and meal at hand or cellar through 2029.

Southern Starz, Inc. —C.P.

abv: 15.9% Price: $50

91

Wakefield 2016 St. Andrews Shiraz (Clare Val-

ley). This is a big young wine but in reflec-

tion of the relatively cool climes of Clare Valley, it

offers up a little more freshness than its Barossa

counterparts. A spicy nose of ground black pepper

and earthy dried herbs mingles with mocha, plums,

raspberries and olives. The fruit is more prominent

on the palate, fleshy and ripe and framed by tight

fine-grained tannins. Drink 2021–2029. Seaview

Imports. Cellar Selection. —C.P.

abv: 14.5% Price: $70

91

Wirra Wirra 2016 RSW Shiraz (McLaren Vale).

An intense high-octane wine, this bursts from

the glass with aromas of ripe black current, black

cherries, mocha and Middle Eastern spices, includ-

ing tangy sumac. Tannins are powerful and tightly

wound around plump tangy currant fruit and more

earthy sumac spice. This wine needs protein now

but mostly it needs time. Drink now, with plenty

of time in decanter and through 2034. Negociants

USA–Winebow. Cellar Selection. —C.P.

abv: 14.5% Price: $65

91

Yangarra 2014 Shiraz (McLaren Vale).

Yangarra’s Shiraz offers amazing complex-

ity for the price. While it starts a little reductively,

it opens after a short time in glass and out pours

aromas of drying plums, tangerine, Kalamata olives,

savory spices and warm earthy mineral nuances.

The palate is precise and highly textural with talc-

like tannins and a mouthfeel that seems as though

you could crunch the wine like an apple rather

than sip it. Drink now until 2027. Sovereign Wine

Imports. —C.P.

abv: 14% Price: $25

90

Handpicked 2013 Collection Shiraz (Barossa

Valley). Six years in the bottle sees this full-

bodied wine easing into calmer waters, the waves

of plum fruit washing over the nose and tongue in

dried rather than fresh form, and herbal, floral char-

acters that feel like they belong less in a meadow

and more in a potpourri dish. The vanillin oak is still

present, too. There’s still a firm grip of fine-grained

tannins and some silky textured fruit weight but

there’s plenty of freshness still buoying things into

brightness. American Spirits Exchange Ltd. —C.P.

abv: 14% Price: $50

90

Longview 2016 Yakka Shiraz (Adelaide

Hills). A lovely, brambly fruited expression

of Adelaide Hills Shiraz, this wine leads with aro-

mas of bright red cherries, mocha, crushed violets

and peppery spices. It is full bodied but poised sin-

ewy savory tannins balance crunchy acidity on the

palate. The finish is long and tangy. You could cellar

this for a few years but there’s really no point—it’s

tasty just as it is. Merchant Vintner Imports. —C.P.

abv: 14.5% Price: $30

90

Longview 2015 The Piece Shiraz (Adelaide

Hills). This tightly wound, powerful wine

starts with red-fruit aromas of cherries and rasp-

berries, along with plenty of spicy, vanillin oak and

dried floral components. The tongue is gripped by

fine drying tannins and the barrel flares up particu-

larly on the finish, but this is a highly structured

wine that’s meant for the cellar. Drink 2020–2029.

Merchant Vintner Imports. Cellar Selection. —C.P.

abv: 14.5% Price: $90

90

Mitolo 2016 Savitar Shiraz (McLaren Vale).

This vintage of Savitar is showing well. Just

as ripe and rich as in the past, sweet purple-fruit

tones akin to plum jam or blueberry conserve oozes

from the glass, backed by soft earthy dried herb and

spice notes and a little vanillin oak. The palate is

plump and soft edged, but lifted by acidity and dry-

ing sinewy tannins. A slightly bitter oak note creeps

in on the close but isn’t enough to detract from the

high-powered yet balanced nature of this cellar-

worthy wine. Drink 2021–2029. Vintus LLC. Cellar

Selection. —C.P.

abv: 14.5% Price: $75

90

Pauletts 2014 Polish Hill River Shiraz (Clare

Valley). This is a rich and oaky but well-

put-together wine with a heady mélange of aromas

like plum, cassis, cola, olives, black pepper, choc-

olate and tarmac after a warm rain. The palate is

highly textural with herb-flecked tannins and the

same myriad flavors and oak influence—a powerful

wine with a long life ahead of it. Drink 2021–2029.

Great Australian Wine Company. —C.P.

abv: 14.3% Price: $28

90

Small Gully Wines 2015 The Formula

Robert’s Shiraz (South Australia). This is a

solid South Aussie Shiraz that punches above its

price point. Amidst brambly currant fruit and a

mélange of earthy, dried spices is a metallic blood-

like aroma that adds complexity. The palate teeters

between medium and full bodied, offering restraint

and even elegance amidst some power. The texture

is silky, buoyed by a fine line of acidity and soft grip

of savory tannins. Drink now through 2026. Vine

Street Imports. —C.P.

abv: 15.9% Price: $18

90

The Lane 2016 Block 14 Single Vineyard Bas-

ket Press Shiraz (Adelaide Hills). From The

Lane’s highest vineyard, this is a relatively cool-

climate Shiraz, although it still displays plenty of

ripeness and power. The nose is a combo of cassis,

red cherries, violets, dried tobacco leaves and warm

stones plus more oak-derived aromas like vanilla,

mocha and earthy spice. It’s full figured but the

plush fruit is balanced by spicy oak and focused

tannins. Drink now through 2027. Pacific Highway

Wines & Spirits. —C.P.

abv: 13.5% Price: $35