SYRAH / SHIRAZ

2020

92pts "A Barossa Cabernet Shiraz in full voice combining the ripe and the juicy with some attractive savouriness. No one grape dominates the blend, this is a 50-50 partnership, but in taste there seems to be just a little more obvious Shiraz sweet generosity, especially across the middle palate. While it may not be the most complex, it does lay everything out before you, open and inviting, in black fruits, plum, briar, earth, leather (imagine sitting in a comfy old leather lounge) fuelled by coffee, mocha oak notes. It offers a lovely, big mouthful of Barossa typicity. The black pastille moment on the finish is just so delicious. Museum release." - Jeni Port, Winepilot

92pts - "Ermine purple with bright rim. Choc/mocha, pink salt, blood plum, cabbage rose heart, big day old raspberries, cassis to blackberry and even some fresh bay leaf aromatics. Feels Cabernet dominant (even with the even split) with tight, fine, velvety tannins and a herbaceous (but not green) echo. Plenty of ripe dark fruit flesh to satisfy those seeking opulence rather than anemia. Maybe could even do a couple of years in the cellar." - Regan Drew, Vino Notebook

91pts "The classic Aussie blend: 50/50% shiraz/cabernet sauvignon from Dorrien in the central Barossa Valley. Deep crimson with vibrant fruit tones of blackberry, dark cherry, blood plum and some lighter blackcurrant pastille notes. Plenty of spicy depth with hints of licorice, dark chocolate, fruitcake, earth and graphite. Plenty of fruit depth with some herbs flowing in on the palate, Velvety, rich and opulent with a powdery tannin grip and a black-fruited finish" - Dave Brookes, Halliday

90pts – “Dark ruby with a touch of fade into the rim. Cassis, bay leaf and iodine aromatics. Dark and weighty black fruits that fills the mouth with a rich velvet tannin profile that keeps it gliding long into the finish. There's a deft touch here.” – Stuart Knox, The Real Review

2018
93/100 "Very deep red/purple colour, with a rose-petal overtone to the crushed blackberry and mulberry fruit aromas. Very attractive. Cabernet shows through, here. Concentrated and plush but light on its feet: a delicious red wine, already drinking nicely." - Huon Hooke, The Real Review

2016
95/100 "Very deep purple/red colour, with an intensely spicy aroma which reveals a lot of char-oak notes. The flavour is full and rich, concentrated, fruit-sweet and well-rounded, with some alcohol warmth and a punchy finish. A real mouthful of deliciousness." - Huon Hooke

92+ "A mix of old and new school. Deep, dark, dense fruit; toffeed/malt-like oak characters; both leather and tar aspects. All this will keep lovers of Barossa Valley reds well and truly happy. But there are also florals notes, a run of juicy boysenberry, and bright tips of mint. In short: it’s hefty, hearty and well styled." - Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front

2015
91 pts "Big-ish wine but it remembers its manners. Blackcurrant, sweet plum, boysenberry and coffee-cream flavours. There’s plenty to hook into here. Oak lends the wine a slippery smoothness; cabernet contributes fruit but also dust-like notes and a certain stringiness to the tannin. Shiraz helps sweeten and plump it all out. It doesn’t quite feel cohesive but it’s young." - Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front

91/100 "Raw with fruit and oak but generous of both. Coffee-cream, blackberry and sweet plum flavours jumble their way through the palate. It doesn't feel seamless but there's plenty here to latch onto." - Campbell Mattinson, Halliday

93/100 "Good depth and hue of colour, with a lifted ginger spice aroma, which includes some eucalytpus mint. The wine is intense and sull in the mouth, firm and elegant and showing the cabernet influence in structure as much as flavour. There's abundant fruit sweetness in the mid-palate followed by drying tannins and a clean, persistent finish. A very smart blend." - Huon Hooke, The Real Review

2014