A vibrant, energetic, long and complete Barossa shiraz whose heady perfume of dark berries and plums, gentle cedar/chocolate oak, meaty undertones and sweet spicy notes are lifted by scents of blue flowers and pepper. Fullish to medium in weight, its pristine, evenly paced core of translucently bright black and blue fruits are supported by a drying spine of chalky tannins, finishing with shape and freshness.
If Dave Powell has a signature for grenache, here it is. It’s a wild, heady, pungent and emphatic wine that needs either cellaring or significant breathing to deliver its best. Laced with dark flowers and musky spices, it’s steeped in dense aromas of dark plums, blueberries, licorice and bitumen, with star anise gradually appearing. Saturated with dense black, blue and red fruit that borders on bloodiness, it’s tarry and meaty with a hint of currant, driving forever towards a lingering and savoury finish of red licorice and dark cherries.
A steamroller of a northern Barossa shiraz – plush and densely packed with brooding tarry, dark berry, cherry and plum-like flavour smoothed out by chocolatey, coffee grounds-like oak and supported by an underswell of fine, kernelly tannins that become more mineral with breathing. Laced with dark pepper and exotic spice, it’s smoky and briary, unfolding notes of roast meats, boot polish and walnuts beneath its generous dollops of plush, fiery fruit. Its exceptional texture, structure and balance stamp it as a high-level Dave Powell wine.
An artful, luscious, deeply layered and Rhone-inspired marsanne whose waxy, creamy fragrance of honeysuckle, lemon nougat, yellow flowers and lime juice reveals notes of brulee, corindader, marzipan and mineral. Round and generous, it’s mouthfilling and beautifully weighted, with a smooth, creamy and toasty core that extends long and savoury towards a refreshing finish of mouthwatering acids. Keep this away from the kids.
A superlative and very Australian shiraz which unfolds a heady, deeply floral perfume of cassis, redcurrants, musk and raspberries tightly knit with cedar/chocolate oak and lifted by scents of rose petals plus a hint of spearmint. Fullish in weight, it’s piercingly intense, long and elegant, with a translucently bright core of pristine small red fruits framed by a crunchy, gravelly spine and wrapped in a mouthwatering, perfectly focused acidity. Gentle, supple and willowy, it’s an essay in harmony and balance.