98 POINTS
Dave Brookes - Halliday Wine Companion
Shiraz from the esteemed 107-year-old single-vineyard in Eden Valley, farmed organically and biodynamically and matured in French (80/20% new) and American (20%) oak for 18 months. Tiny yields due to untimely weather events during budburst and flowering. Stephen mentions they had to send a search party out to find grapes, 5.5t is all; in the end picked before the Wheelwright and after Hill of Grace. But what a beautiful wine. Pure blackberry and black cherry, sage, pepper, rosehip, crushed stone, softly spoken cedar tones and liminal tobacco and pan juice glimpses. Superfine savoury tannins and a long draw on the graceful finish.
96 POINTS
Sarah Ahmed - Decanter
Deep-set sage, tinder-dry bush, raspberry, chocolate and black pepper aromas follow through in the mouth, to be joined by blackberry, plum, kirsch hints and – with time in glass – pungent winter greens, black truffle, liquorice, espresso and more subtle notes of camphor and eucalyptus. Ripe but plentiful, mouth-coating tannins and a beam of redcurrant acidity lean into and lock down the fruit, making for a youthfully tight, brooding finish. Great ageing potential.
96 POINTS
Huon Hooke - The Real Review
Deep, dark dense red-black-purple colours in the glass, the bouquet evokes dried herbs, hot days under a eucalypt forest canopy, complete with underbrush. Very full-bodied, solidly structured and profoundly flavoured, with masses of drying/savoury tannins that persist long after the wine has gone. Earthy and dried spice aromas of nutmeg, clove, pepper and more, the intensity and refined focus of the wine are impressive as is the almost endless finish. A top example of this wine.
96 POINTS
Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate
The 2019 Mount Edelstone Vineyard Shiraz leads with a profusion of black pepper and sage, violet and raspberry seed, graphite and black tea. In the mouth, the wine is silky and uber fine, with layers of silty tannins that tend to caress the palate rather that sit apart from it. This is a completely seamless release, a beautiful wine. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
Yields were so catastrophically low in 2019 that it became necessary to search for another way to release enough of this wine to keep the global market satisfied, so the 2013 vintage was selected as a sympathetic vintage to re-release.
95 POINTS
Christina Pickard - Wine Enthusiast
From a 112-year-old vineyard planted (unusually for the time) solely to Shiraz, this vintage of Mt. Edelstone is set for the very long haul. Currently quite broody, it unravels with aeration to offer layers of aroma and flavor, from cassis to dried violets and Mediterranean herbs and spices, with a well-tucked toasty, chocolatey-oak note beneath. Powerful, chiseled tannins frame the silky fruit and spice. Will reward many years of cellaring. Drink 2027–2049.
94 POINTS
Ned Goodwin - JamesSuckling.com
A dry year, iterated as a full-weighted Mount Edelstone baring a burl of thick skin and somewhat drying grape tannins. Scents of menthol, Aussie scrub, licorice strap and blue to black fruit. A sluice of iodine across the finish, admittedly unraveling with air. An ode to classicism that should age well. Drinkable now, but best from 2028. Glass stopper.
94 POINTS
Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front
Grown on 107-year-old vines. Matured in 20% new French oak for 18 months.
This release is rock solid. It offers a wealth of berried fruits – from boysenberry to blackberry to scorched plum – and then sets black pepper, violet, peppercorns and mint into the mix. There’s a creaminess to the oak but it’s underplayed; there’s warmth but the fruit runs with it, and through it. This wine sits at the intersection between softness and satisfaction. It’s heartiness wrapped in velvet. It feels, despite its richness, authentic.
94 POINTS
Angus Hughson - Vinous
This sturdy, strong 2019 Shiraz Mount Edelstone has all the ingredients for a long life ahead with a little flair thrown in. It is a distinctly savory wine, with layer after layer of earthy, meaty tones underpinned by generously musky plum aromas. The excellent density of flavor and firm, chewy tannins follow. Peaty, wood smoke and clove flavors linger over the finish. The delicious overall flow and drinkability will hold for some time to come.
