2021 Utopos Cabernet Shiraz

95 POINTS

Ned Goodwin - JamesSuckling.com

This is excellent. Perhaps the best wine of the suite. Fine tannic pedigree. Lithe, firm and compact. A tilt into verdant notes, but suffused with so much juice and cassis crunch that the end result is full-weighted, immensely savory, juicy and beautiful.

93 POINTS

Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front

Rich and ripe but firm. This is both full-on and good. Bourbon, chocolate, coffee-cream and toast characters move gradually towards saltbush. Warm and a bit over the top, admittedly, but well done in that context.

92 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2021 Cabernet Shiraz is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Shiraz, picked from the best blocks on the Utopos vineyard. The fruit was picked and fermented separately on skins for seven days before being pressed to a blend of small and larger format French oak (approximately 25% new, the balance a mix of second and third use barriques), for 18 months. The nose leads with garden mint, clove, dried raspberry, licorice and nori. In the mouth, the acid that overlays the fruit is tart—I expected fine acid from this vintage, but it's sitting a little awkwardly at this stage. Time may unfurl this wine; it is very young right now. This has gorgeous fruit, as with all of the Utopos wines. It is concentrated and with a sheen, in the very best of ways...

92 POINTS

Dave Brookes - Halliday Wine Companion

70/20% cabernet sauvignon/shiraz from the Utopos vineyard on Roennfeldt Road; matured in French oak (25% new) for 18 months. Kym Teusner's take on the great Aussie blend under his Utopos label shows impressive fruit depth, fine-grained tannin and velocity throughout its length. All blackberry and black cherry cut with spice, licorice and dark chocolate with some western Barossa ironstone bite for good measure. There is a chewy, toothsome structural aspect to the finish, which bodes well for cellaring.