Rather thick, meaty and pruney shiraz with a tarry, menthol-like aroma of sweet vanilla oak, currants and licorice. It’s velvet-smooth and finely crafted, but the thick layers of ultra-ripe and dehydrated fruit tend to lack freshness and vitality. It relies excessively on its tightly integrated creamy vanilla oak for palate sweetness, while some slightly greenish notes lurk beneath the lingering finish.

An unashamedly ripe and opulently concentrated shiraz that might lack much finesse, but retains its ability to reflect its vineyard through a slightly porty but palate-staining presence of dark, minty fruit. Gamey and spicy, with meaty layers of animal hide, clove and cinnamon, cocoa and mocha, graphite and iodide beneath its currant-like flavours of plums, dark cherries and berries, itÕs framed by fine, dusty tannins and finishes with surprising brightness and persistence. It finishes with lingering smoky and savoury influences.

Deep, dark and densely packed, this long-term shiraz has a meaty, briary bouquet of blackberries, cassis and dark plums accompanied by fresh chocolate/cedar/vanilla oak and backed by nuances of mint and menthol. Ultra-ripe, long and firm, with a powerful core of blackberry, plum, prune and currant-like fruit knit with ground coffee oak and framed by firm, powdery tannins, it reveals undertones of minerals and dried herbs. It would rate even more highly if its alcohol and ripeness were not quite so extreme.

A smooth, polished and elegant shiraz of artful balance and restraint. Steeped in alluring scents of mulberries, raspberries, cassis and blue flowers, itÕs scented with charry oak and suggestions of fennel. Its pristine, translucent flavours of blackberries, dark plums and blueberries knit seamlessly with smoky chocolate/vanilla oak, while a fine, firmish spine of willowy tannins contributes genuine structure and presence. While it will certainly build richness and depth, this represents a wonderfully stylish evolution of this wine.