Altera Terra Sanctus Shiraz 2019

Wonder what winemaker, Doug Neal, is thinking here with the name, Sanctus? It’s Latin for holy, but what is holy exactly? Is it the Shiraz grape – there are three separate clones employed here –  the Canberra wine region or a combination of both? I vote for the latter. Canberra shiraz is kicking cool climate goals and here Doug Neal, an experienced Victorian winemaker, branches out across the border and into some pretty exciting territory.

The colour says so much, a brilliant purple-garnet, coupling youth and concentration. A pure line of clean, fine tannins drive the energy to this wine, and it has energy to burn. Spice aplenty, too. Sourced from Murrumbateman, the bouquet is all lifted black cherry, blue fruits, baking spices, pepper. Structured yet buoyant, the fruit jumps and shimmies. There’s an elegance here and life, so much life. The spice, pepper component takes off filling the mouth with a delicacy of fruit with a lovely intensity. Spiced plums, lightly toasted vanilla oak from 15 months maturation seal the deal. A most impressive wine with a deep, emerging complexity.