Unfortunately there's not too much of the Curtis Limited, nor the Hewitson Ungrafted available, so this is a subscriber exclusive offer. If you fancy ripe fruit, black fruit intensity, no skimping on the quality oak and a flavour that lingers long after you've finished a mouthful, this is the pack for you. Cracking wines, all of these. Drink now or cellar for up to a decade.
96pts Kim Brebach, 96pts Sam Kim, 95pts Ray Jordan
This is a big cedary and black fruited beast of a Shiraz that is already drinking magnificently, but will also cellar for a decade or more. The structure and depth of black and blue fruits, and the length and persistence are exceptional.
Only tiny quantities are made of the Dowie Doole Architect wines, which are the product of the finest of Dowie Doole's A-grade fruit from each vintage ('21 being an incredible vintage has elevated this even further). The '21 is exceptional, and represents a barrel selection chosen from only A-grade parcels from the old, dry-grown Blewitt Springs vineyard. There's brightness with density of blue and black fruits, cedary oak, gravelly tannins and exceptional length.
The 3rd, and best release of Sieben Klon Shiraz so far - no surprise, given this is from the exceptional 2021 vintage. Made by former Penfolds St Henri growers, the Lienert brothers, each of the 7 distinct clones were harvested and fermented separately - the harvest date chosen to best allow each grape to express its best characters. For instance, the EVOS12 (Eden Valley clone) was harvested earlier than the others to allow for a beautiful perfume and liveliness in the final wine. Fermentation is done in tiny open top fermenters which are hand plunged up to 4 times a day. Certain clones are fermented cooler to better express delicate aromatics whilst some are plunged and pumped over heavily to achieve a more structural element. The trick is finding the right balance. Anyways, we love this wine and encourage you to give it a rip.
96pts Sam Kim, 95pts Ray Jordan, 95pts Ken Gargett
This is sourced entirely from old, estate grown, ungrafted Barossa vines. The fruit from these gnarly old vines is handpicked before whole bunch fermentation in open fermenters, then pressed into French oak where it spends 15 months. It has an elegant, fragrant nose with plenty of spice and perfume. The palate is bright, but underscored with old vine, black fruited gravitas. Exceptional.
