Cape Barren Rare Bird Shiraz 2020

97 POINTS

Sam Kim - Wine Orbit

The wine combines opulent power with seductive complexity, showing blackberry, dark plum, vanillin oak, smoked meat and warm spice aromas on the nose. The concentrated palate offers outstanding depth and persistency, gorgeously enhanced by plush texture and layers of fine tannins. Impressively complex with sensually enticing mouthfeel, making it hugely appealing.

94 POINTS

Marcus Ellis - Halliday Wine Companion

An average vine age of 35 years planted to sandy loam atop brown clay, with 24 months in French and American oak. This comes in a heavy wax-sealed bottle with a somewhat defiant-looking goose on the fetchingly simple, square parchment label. This is McLaren Vale shiraz seen through a classic filter, though with meaningful refinement and accessible detail. The intentional bottle age aids that cohesion, and it’s a credit that the time is allocated. Dark plums, berries and cherries, ground cacao, anise, vanilla and clove. It’s rich and silken, without overt heft or sweetness, the feeling of plushness directed by sleekly effective tannins.

94 POINTS

Ken Gargett - Winepilot

Each batch of fruit from McLaren Vale spent fifteen days on skins before fermentation in a mix of tank and new and older French and American oak hogsheads, before two years of maturation. An opaque purple colour, there is well integrated oak in evidence here. Notes of chocolate, mulberries, plums and vanilla as well. Rich and generous, the wine exhibits excellent balance and length with plush and rather silky tannins. The palate sees an explosion of rather gorgeous chocolate flavours. Delicious now and for at least the next eight to ten years.