95 POINTS
James Halliday - Halliday Wine Companion
Includes 'a little splash of malbec'; gold medal winner National Wine Show of Australia ’21. The base wines came from the 1997–2022 vintages. Has threaded the needle with lower dosages than usual (hence the gold medal), investing the wine with freshness and finely wrought tannins. Is there nothing outside the skills of Paul Hotker? Not to mention, value for money across the board.
92 POINTS
Tyson Stelzer - Halliday Wine Companion
The best-selling sparkling red in Australia. Based on the cool '11 season, it's alive with pretty violet lift and lovely plum, rhubarb and black pepper fruit flavours, backed with dark chocolate oak. Classic Langhorne Creek shiraz with refined restraint, low alcohol, finely textured tannins and good persistence.
92 POINTS
Bob Campbell MW - The Real Review
Deep red in colour with the unmistakeable aroma and flavour of good, dense, oak-aged Shiraz. A little sweetness neatly balances the wines tannins. Hearty, mouth-filling wine with plenty of appeal. The flavours are quite fresh (that is, not showing great bottle age)
90 POINTS
James Halliday - Halliday Wine Companion
Bright colour; spiced damsel plum bouquet, with a rich fruitcake palate; quite sweet, but the finish is fresh and the tannin drying; well-balanced.
90 POINTS
Huon Hooke - The Real Review
Medium dark red purple. Very good colour. Excellent, rich plum and chocolate nose, nicely integrated and balanced. Palate is appealing, albeit sweeter than most other sparkling reds. Rich, fleshy, chocolaty and rounded, with notable sweetness, but well within style bounds. Fleshy and full of charm. Like this a lot.
90 POINTS
Huon Hooke - The Real Review
Deep red colour with the last vestiges of purple tint. Ripe plummy bouquet, clean and fresh, and not shrill or simplistic. A tinge of spice, earth and faint chocolate. The palate is full, and round, soft and smooth, balanced and clean on the finish with a touch of cleansing tannin. There's plenty of sweetness mid-palate, then a clean, drying finish. Cleverly balanced wine. This would have wide appeal.
James Halliday - Halliday Wine Companion
Generous, luscious red fruits; good finish, not phenolic; will age well on cork.
Huon Hooke - The Real Review
Medium dark red purple. Very good colour. Fresh vibrant nose, blackberry plum and subtle spice aromas, excellent; ripe but not overripe. Trace of ironstone. Rather sweet on entry: sweeter than I expected or wanted. Very soft in mouth, lacks the tannin to counter the sweetness. Quite round, rich and soft. Pleasant style. Very drinkable. No fault - just a bit sweet for my taste.