O Come All Ye Faithful, here’s a dozen to Jingle all the Bells! We’ve got All You Want For Christmas right here!
It really will be The Most Wonderful Time of the Year thanks to Chateau Yaldara’s epic 97pt Grand Cuvée Shiraz, Showblock’s silky McLaren Vale blend, Curtis Vineyards’ old vine 96pt McLaren Vale Shiraz, plus stunning reds from 3 Rings Barossa, Leasingham Clare Valley, and a superb Frankland River Shiraz.
Your family and friends will be Rocking Around the Christmas Tree all festive season long with this lot nestled in the wine rack.
Made From: A-grade Barossa Shiraz and exceptional oak
Aromas and Flavours: Blue and black fruits, chocolate and tobacco leaf
Drink if you like: Saltram No 1
Have With: A rare to med rare scotch fillet, and duck fat rosemary spuds
Awards: 97pts Sam Kim, 95pts Kim Brebach
Just the fourth release of Yaldara Grand, and arguably the best so far, with its incredible concentration of fruit and use of exceptional oak. A big wine and a complex expression of the Barossa. Milk and dark chocolate, aniseed, blue fruits, tobacco leaf, plus plenty of cedary oak and tannin. Incredible.
96pts Sam Kim, 96pts Melbourne International Wine Competition, 95pts Kim Brebach, 94pts Ken Gargett, 3 Golds
A black, plush, and full-bodied Shiraz made from 80-year-old vines. Exceptional fruit intensity here, and weight of black fruits on the palate. Opulence is balanced by judicious acidity and there’re plenty of tannins driving through to an epic conclusion. Decant if you are going to enjoy now, otherwise cellar!
A big, brooding beast, packed with blackberry, dark cherries, dark chocolate, baking spice and plenty of cedar. The generosity and ripeness of fruit is superb. Definitely worth decanting.
93pts Kim Brebach, 92pts Wine Pilot, 92pts Ken Gargett, 92pts Sam Kim
Leasingham wines have been around since the 1890s and have been steered by a series of legendary winemakers over the years. It wasn’t until the early 70s that the Bin series kicked off, with a Bin 61 Shiraz and a Bin 56 Cab Malbec. These were both highly prized for their exceptional quality and regular ability to out-perform wines selling at 2-3 times their asking price. A few of us from WD were lucky enough to attend a vertical tasting with Tim Knappstein (one of the aforementioned and legendary Leasingham alumni) a decade or so ago and came away incredibly impressed with the quality and consistency of the wines. We looked at over 20 vintages, and everything we tasted was still showing fruit, the best of them were exceptional. So it’s a little sad that the '21 may be the last vintage of the Bin 61 Shiraz. Lots of good stuff here, black tea, chocolate, coffee grounds, mint, plum, charcuterie, and blackberries. The overall impression is of mid-weight fruit, an even balance between softness, fine tannin and good length. Cracking value for money. Drink now through 2030.
92pts Ray Jordan, 93pts Kim Brebach, 90pts Sam Kim
Frankland River is one of the most remote wine regions on earth and produces glorious Riesling and Shiraz. We tasted this exceptional 21 and bought as much as we could get our hands on. There's blue fruits and spice, The fruit is medium bodied yet powerful, the finish spiced and coated with plenty of lovely, fine, trailing tannins.
Made From: Frankland River Shiraz
Aromas and Flavours: Blue fruits, spice, fruit intensity, fine tannins
Drink if you like: mid weight and bright rather than ponderous reds
92pts Ken Gargett, 92pts Sam Kim, 92pts Kim Brebach
A rich, expansive morass of relaxed blackness, herbed with mint and splintered with cedar. Dive into a T-Bone, pull the ring on one of these, settle back and enjoy.
