Vibrant purple in colour, a regal nose showing lifted spice, dark fruits and subtle hint of oak. The palate is medium-bodied showing great intensity and the velvety texture that is seen in the best wines from this vintage. The palate structure is effortless with no rough edges showing wonderful balance of fruit, acid, oak and tannin.
Critic Reviews
96 POINTS
James Halliday - Halliday Wine Companion
Created in 1962 by the late Murray Tyrrell, and I had became well aware of it by the mid-1960s as my weekend trips to the Hunter became more frequent. The fruit for Vat 9 is hand picked from the best parcels off ancient red clay soils over limestone with a minimum age of 50 years. The wine overflows with lively, spicy fruits that dance in the mouth as the oak joins in the savoury core, reflecting the maturation in 'mostly newer' oak for the usual 14 months. There also appears to be some whole bunches involved.
95 POINTS
Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate
The 2021 Vat 9 Hunter Shiraz is everything we want and expect from quality Hunter Valley Shiraz: medium-bodied, mineral, elegant, saturated with red fruit flavor and layered with exotic spice. The tannins are key to enjoyment here; they are very fine, ductile, almost whippy in shape and texture and show such extreme elegance that one cannot imagine what more one could want from tannins. They serve the fruit perfectly. This will only get better. And better. And better.
94 POINTS
James Suckling
A juicy and fruity shiraz with plums, ripe strawberries and undertones of sliced red meat, terra cotta and orange peel. Medium to full body, creamy tannins and a savory finish. Lovely intensity of fruit and focus.
94 POINTS
Gary Walsh - The Wine Front
Ripe raspberry, baking spice, a little creamy, mixed berries, acidity is clean, tannin a little sticky, but lovely flavour and a good finish. Very nice. Has the plushness that Vat 9 delivers so well. I can’t imagine anyone not liking this wine (well, I can, though there’s likely no help I can offer them).
94 POINTS
Gary Walsh - The Wine Front
Chris Tyrrell commented that reds came in about two weeks later than usual in 2021. Ripe raspberry, baking spice, a little creamy, mixed berries, acidity is clean, tannin a little sticky, but lovely flavour and a good finish. Very nice. Has the plushness that Vat 9 delivers so well. I can’t imagine anyone not liking this wine (well, I can, though there’s likely no help I can offer them).
94 POINTS
Gary Walsh - The Wine Front
Chris Tyrrell commented that reds ca... A subscription to The Wine Front is needed to read reviews and scores. Either log in if you are an existing subscriber, or consider joining via our subscription page - HERE. If you're an existing member who's subscription has expired, then please check your account status HERE. Thank you.
Winemakers Notes
Vat 9 Shiraz is sourced from the best parcels on the Tyrrell Estate ‘Ashmans’. These vines have a minimum age of 50 years, and are grown in red clay soils over limestone. Weinkeller and the Short Flat make up the majority of the Vat 9 blend. The five-hectare Short Flat Vineyard is located directly north of the driveway of the Tyrrell’s Estate. The vineyard is a mosaic of vine ages with two distinctly named Shiraz blocks: the Mathews and Contours vineyards. Grapes from these vineyards, which were both planted in 1968 and are both situated at an elevation of about 115m, form an integral part of the blend in our flagship Vat 9 Shiraz. The autumn and winter months of 2020 saw the worst drought in a generation be broken with substantial rainfall, we led into an outstanding growing season for the 2021 vintage. A cool summer then gave us even, stress-free ripening with some heat around Australia Day that was perfectly timed at the final stages of ripening. With an early budburst and later than normal harvesting, the fruit had a longer than normal hang time, which meant that all of the fruit had wonderful flavours balanced by a high natural acidity. Handpicked and sorted in the vineyard in the second week of February, the blocks were all kept separate and fermented in the open top vats. The individual wines were then matured in mostly newer French oak casks (2700L) until the Vat 9 blend was assembled in November 2021. The blend was then matured for a further five months before bottling.
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Tasting Notes
Vibrant purple in colour, a regal nose showing lifted spice, dark fruits and subtle hint of oak. The palate is medium-bodied showing great intensity and the velvety texture that is seen in the best wines from this vintage. The palate structure is effortless with no rough edges showing wonderful balance of fruit, acid, oak and tannin.