2019 Jim Barry The Armagh Shiraz

98 POINTS

Jane Anson - Decanter Magazine

Powerful, with smoked earth, juicy damson fruit, bitter black chocolate, pomegranate, luscious and enticing, with fragrant spice of anis and fennel. This was a warm vintage with low yield of around 15hl/h, but the tannins were clearly extremely well handled, giving a gentle insistence to this wine that refuses to go away, and yet never overpowers. Aged entirely French oak (as it had been from the 2017 vintage) with vines that at this point were more than 50 years old. Tom Barry winemaker, bottled unfiltered and unfined.

98 POINTS

Georgina Hindle - Decanter

Wild roses, smoked meats, perfumed strawberries and green peppercorns, I love the nose on this wine. Broad and imposing straight away, layered and deep the tannins make the first mark, really filling the mouth with a chalky, velvety plushness that is massy and so wide. The tannins do most of the talking but once they subside and melt into the cheeks, the spiced red berry fruit, liquorice, flint/slate, tobacco, clove, dark chocolate cinnamon and leather come through - this is full of complexity, muscle and power yet carries so much aromatic interest. Clearly still young and not as generous or easy going as the 2018 at this point last year but this is built to last and has something so utterly charming and inviting about it. Totally moreish and delightful. I adore this wine but put it away and come back to it in a few years

97 POINTS

James Halliday - Halliday's Wine Companion

Individual blocks from within the Armagh vineyard (pl 1968). This is a big, savoury, meaty shiraz with layers and layers of concentrated purple fruits, hung deli meat, salted licorice, heirloom tomatoes, Amaro herbs, freshly grated nutmeg, bay leaf and clove. The magical thing about this wine, is actually not the flavours themselves (although impressive), but the way they spool out over the palate and through the extremely long, seemingly interminable finish. It is unfailingly consistent, the tannins fine and omnipresent... the whole package densely, and patiently unfurls in the mouth. The wine is a masterpiece. Forever awaits.

97 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Wine Advocate

The vineyard that the fruit for this iconic Australian wine is sourced from was planted in 1968, giving us the benefit of over 50 years of vine age— a very good thing when we consider fruit tannin and concentration. In addition to the vineyard placement and vine age, Clare Valley benefits from a wide-ranging array of elevation (190 meters to 610 meters) with high diurnal range. All of this means ripe wines, tense wines, and powerful wines, which just about sums up Clare Valley. So, to this wine: The 2019 The Armagh Shiraz is complex, layered and spiced, with a multitude of hung deli meats and small goods packed in alongside the purple fruits and exotic spice. The wine is supple, for all the power, and unfurls over a long finish to show the muscle and might of this iconic wine. In a vertical of four vintages (2016, 2017, 2018 and this 2019), this has the second-highest alcohol of the lot, at 14.1%, showing that concentration and density doesn't have to come at the expense of finesse. I love this.

97 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Halliday's Wine Companion

Individual blocks from within the Armagh vineyard (planted 1968). This is a big, savoury, meaty shiraz with layers and layers of concentrated purple fruits, hung deli meat, salted licorice, heirloom tomatoes, amaro herbs, freshly grated nutmeg, bay leaf and clove. The magical thing about this wine is actually not the flavours themselves (although impressive), but the way they spool out over the palate and through the extremely long, seemingly interminable finish. It is unfailingly consistent, the tannins fine and omnipresent. The whole package densely and patiently unfurls in the mouth. The wine is a masterpiece. Forever awaits.

96 POINTS

James Suckling

I like this. A typically rich Armagh, boasting ample Australian swagger glimpsed through a lens of contemporary freshness. Very different to certain iterations past. Think smoked charcuterie, violets, blue fruits and pepper grind, with a sachet of Indian spice emptied across the firm, tautly knit tannins, nicely gritty and moreish. A long, penetrative finish and a whiff of mint. Burly, exotic and energetic all at once. A winning triumvirate.