2022 Brokenwood Shiraz

96 POINTS

Toni Paterson MW - Halliday Wine Companion

It is a signature wine for Brokenwood and a textbook example of how irresistible Hunter Valley shiraz can be. Made from grapes off the younger vines of the Graveyard vineyard and blended with declassified wine from the older vines. The wine is beautifully supple with red plum, crushed mulberries, and glorious licorice accents. It traverses the boundary between modern and classic and has so much sass that you'll find it impossible to resist.

94 POINTS

Ken Gargett - Winepilot

Many will remember this wine from years gone by, when it was a high quality quaffer and bargain buying. Someone made the decision to crank it up even further, though sadly and inevitably, the price followed. Now, it is a really first class Shiraz from the Hunter and worth every cent of the somewhat elevated tag. Serious stuff, here. The grapes are harvested from the younger sections of the Graveyard Vineyard, a fine pedigree if ever there was one. 100% French oak, of which 25% was puncheons and a total of 25% new. Vibrant purple, the nose gives us spices, cassis, raspberries, cranberries and a hint of aniseed that are fresh and delightfully exuberant. There are abundant tannins, but they are very fine ones. With impressive length, this is utterly delicious with spices and cherries on the palate. A ten year proposition and still great buying.

93 POINTS

Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front

Grapes for this wine were sourced solely from the Graveyard vineyard. It saw 25% new (French) oak. Red licorice and plums, red cherries and sweet, earthen spices. It’s silken, it’s juicy and it’s well-shaped. It’s a medium-weight wine of impeccable balance; everything feels honed and well manicured. There’s a gentle creaminess to the texture and modest inputs from cedarwood oak. Archetypal “drink now or later” Hunter Valley shiraz.

91 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2022 Shiraz sources fruit from the younger plantings within the Graveyard vineyard and makes use of any declassified fruit from the 1968 plantings in that vineyard. Aromatically, the wine is light and spicy, with star anise and fennel, raspberry pip and licorice. In the mouth, the wine is crunchy and fine, and while it lacks the density and power of the Graveyard vineyard Shiraz, it delivers all the lighter aspects of that wine with elegance and class. This is a lovely little wine here, with pink peppercorns to close. 13.23% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.