James Halliday’s Wine Companion May 2023 Edition
James Halliday’s Wine Companion released some new scores over the weekend and I’m very pleased to announce we received a few top reviews. The Onkaparinga Vineyard continues to shine as both the Syrah and Grenache attracted top scores. Meanwhile, our Sandown Cabernet Sauvignon received an excellent review also. Tasting notes are attached.
96/100 2020 Onkapraringa Syrah
James Halliday’s Wine Companion May 2023 Edition – The 2020 Onkapraringa Syrah has received some of the highest scores across the industry including 98/100 from The Wine Advocate, 96 from The Wine Front and now 96/100 from Ned Goodwin MW at Halliday’s Wine Companion. The wine is ethereal and is ready to drink now in all of its complex glory – it’s soft and layered and complex and smells like roast meat, white pepper, crushed rock and violet florals. There’s exotic game meat, clove and leather that take this to the next level. This vineyard was an ex-Penfolds Grange constituent in the 1980’s and 1990’s and we have had the vineyard in our portfolio since 2005 as a Grand Cru expression of Syrah. It’s one of the finest expressions we make every year and is an Astralis challenger for the best wine in our cellar on any given day. This is a wine worthy of any fine wine connoisseur and sits at the very top of the quality tree internationally and competes against Australia’s very best and most expensive wines.
James Halliday’s Wine Companion May 2023 Edition – Meanwhile, the Onkaparinga Grenache, the sister wine to the Onkaparinga Syrah, hails from the same majestic Blewitt Springs vineyard. Featuring a site-specific western aspect, the geology is rich in ironstone and features some of the oldest geology on earth with geological surveys dating the site between 750-1600 million years of age. The little bush vines here produce something absolutely exquisite. The highly dense geology formations restrict the vines’ root network and reduce the vine output to enhance the concentration and they deliver the essence of Grenache. This is one of the lightest framed wines we make every year it is ready to drink immediately. I can’t recommend this wine enough right now – the fruit is electric with its softness, perfume, brightness and mineral sophistication. The blueberries and rose petals dance around the raspberry strawberry fruit core and the lightest tannins you’ve ever seen flow seamlessly like origami, folded away so no one can see them. Seriously top stuff that will feature on all the best restaurants around the world. Halliday just gave the wine 95/100 and you can read the tasting note below.
James Halliday’s Wine Companion May 2023 Edition – And the Sandown Cabernet is looking very European and complex and ready to be enjoyed – which may came as a surprise – but trust me, we have been working very hard to soften the wines on release and these come across as some of the most sophisticated released we’ve done. The tannins are long and soft and ripe, the oak is just right, the perfume is lifted and earthy and chocolatey and the wine smells like lead pencils and cassis. It is amazing and worthy of some serious time in the cellar, however it can equally be enjoyed right now. Yes, it is supple enough to enjoy today and I implore you to give it a try.
