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Shaw and Smith Balhannah Shiraz 2021
A$95.00
In stock
750ml
Shaw & Smith
Adelaide Hills, Australia
97 points
Description
The ninth release of this wine, and the vintage perfectly reflects the site. A complex nose laden with spice and red fruit, leads onto a poised, balanced palate. Graphite, sage, Kalamata olive brine, and satsuma plum, are some of the myriad of flavours on the palate, which is lively and medium bodied. Fruit, spice, fine grippy tannins, and acid all contribute on the long finish, a good indication of this wine’s great aging potential.
The growing season for the 2021 vintage was terrific, a joy after the traumas of 2020. Soaking winter rains gave us plenty of moisture in the soil, and that flowed into healthy crops. The summer was mild, slow ripening, with lots of flavour.
Aged for 14 months in 500 to 600 litre French oak barrels, 15% new, followed by a further 14 months in bottle.
Will reward careful cellaring from up to 20 years.
From close-planted (5,500 vines/hectare) low yielding vines from block two at Shaw + Smith’s Balhannah Vineyard, planted in 2005. It has a north-facing aspect and the soils are loam over clay, ironstone, quartzite, and shale. Hand picked, sorted and fermented as whole berries and whole bunches, in open fermenters, with gentle plunging and minimal working. Majority aged in 600 litre French oak puncheons (15% new) for 14 months, followed by a further 24 months in bottle.
Ratings
Score
97 points
Reviewer
Review
A scintillating nose of mace, clove, blue-fruit persuasions, lilac, pepper-dried salumi, fennel seed and kelp, akin to nori of the sort found at Tokyo's arsenal of exceptional sushi counters. On the slightly richer side of mid-weighted. Yet, the slippery skein of tannin is so immaculately placed that there is neither heat nor an ounce of sloppy, sweet fruit. Everything is compressed into a polished bone of tension and savory refinement. The acidity is saline and lathered with tapenade. More of a syrah from an external perspective. An irrefutably brilliant one. I wish I had more to cellar, given the wine's noble stature. A ringer for refined Cornas, if not an oxymoron.
Score
97 points
Reviewer
Review
A scintillating nose of mace, clove, blue-fruit persuasions, lilac, pepper-dried salumi, fennel seed and kelp, akin to nori of the sort found at Tokyo's arsenal of exceptional sushi counters. On the slightly richer side of mid-weighted. Yet, the slippery skein of tannin is so immaculately placed that there is neither heat nor an ounce of sloppy, sweet fruit. Everything is compressed into a polished bone of tension and savory refinement. The acidity is saline and lathered with tapenade. More of a syrah from an external perspective. An irrefutably brilliant one. I wish I had more to cellar, given the wine's noble stature. A ringer for refined Cornas, if not an oxymoron.
Score
96 points
Reviewer
Review
Sweetly vegetal/spicy/floral, whole-bunchy aromas greet the nose immediately—very classy cool-grown shiraz aromas which glide effortlessly into an elegantly structured but tremendously intense palate. An array of dried herb nuances includes oregano, sage, thyme and just a slight whiff of pepper. Gorgeous syrah-style shiraz.
Score
96 points
Reviewer
Review
Sweetly vegetal/spicy/floral, whole-bunchy aromas greet the nose immediately—very classy cool-grown shiraz aromas which glide effortlessly into an elegantly structured but tremendously intense palate. An array of dried herb nuances includes oregano, sage, thyme and just a slight whiff of pepper. Gorgeous syrah-style shiraz.
Score
95 points
Reviewer
Review
A sultry aroma of blackberry, Bing cherries and kombu seaweed. Crushed juniper, clove and allspice meet sandalwood, brown mushroom and pinecones. It’s full of forestry and undergrowth with specks of kalamata olive and hawthorn. Sweetness of spice shines through unpinning the black berried fruit and herbal nuances. Extremely compact and weighty. There is a lot of wine here for the dollar and as per usual it shows off its pedigree with class and sophistication. Tannins are suede like and acidity drives the flavours to the finish line which are way off in the distance. Drink now and will cellar for 5 years. A great wine for slow cooked beef tendon or oxtail.
