2018 Oakdene Single Vineyard William Shiraz

$43 Bottle / $38.70 Member Price

93 points, Ned Goodwin - Halliday Wine Companion 2021 - "A lustrous crimson. Glossy and attractive. This is good. Very. High on personality and a welcome respite from the wave of overtly reductive shiraz that mars the contemporary wine-scape. A seasoning of 15% whole-bunch in the mix. Maturation in French oak (30% new) for 16 months. Ferrous of texture. Saline, too. Violet, tapenade, iodine and salumi notes shimmy long across a rail of peppery acidity. A little more grape tannin would service more savouriness.”

93 points - Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front - “More often than not, shiraz is the best wine in the Oakdene stable.  This is another very good release. It’s flooded with cherry-plum flavour though there are also elements of iodine, smoked meat, black pepper, musk-infused-strawberry and fragrant garden herbs. It presents as seamless; I wouldn’t call it a challenging wine, despite it’s obvious savoury inputs. There’s ample fruit, ample velvet. It’s a lovely drink.”

92 points, Ralph Kyte-Powell - The Real Review - “Medium-depth, ruby-red coloured, this young wine demonstrates cool-climate shiraz traits via aromas of pepper, undergrowth and red berries. A thread of smoky oak adds dimension. It's medium in body and spicy to taste, with attractive texture, ripe tannins and a sustained, aromatic finish.”

2019 Bellarine Penisula Shiraz 

Vibrant medium purple hue with intense aromas of dark savoury fruit, black licorice and spice.  Full, yet medium weight palate driven by red, purple, and black fruits. White pepper and exotic spice, approachable structure and persistence. Shiraz was destemmed, and then fermented in small open vats. Pressed to barrel for malolactic fermentation and matured in French oak barriques (10% new) for 11 months, then bottled in February 2020. Drink now or over the next 2 to 8 years.

$24 Bottle / $21.60 Members Price

REVIEWS

90 points & Special Value rating, Jeni Port - Halliday Wine Companion 2021 - 'Destemmed, fermented in small open-top vats with cultured yeast, mlf, 11 months in French oak barriques (10% new). Forest floor, earth, briar, fennel and red/blue berries on the bouquet. Autumnal in character, it cuts a sleek figure with a taut - almost steely - tannin/acid drive that puckers the mouth. Speaks of its cool-climate home.'

90 points, Aaron Brasher - The Real Review - #14 of 25 Shiraz from Port Phillip region - "A lovely youthful colour in the glass. Aromas of blueberry, violets, spice and a slight vegetal edge (reduction?). A fleshy and juicy palate, blue fruits and brambly blackberry flavours abound. There's some tangy acidity and a greener, whole-bunch woodsy piece that adds some grip and structure. A youthful wine that needs some time to come together".