Bethany GR Barossa Valley Shiraz 2020

GR stands for Geoff and Robert Schrapel, the fifth generation brothers who founded Bethany in 1981 and who continue to offer fabulous wines with the support of their family. For this, their prestige release, they source fruit from their finest parcels of old bush vines. The oak is mostly French, with a contribution of American and the wine is under cork with 430 dozen bottled. An opaque maroon, the nose gives us chocolate, new leather, cloves, spices, aniseed, soy, black fruits and mushrooms. There are hints of axle grease (despite the connotation, consider this a positive, as part of the complexity of the aromas). Great length here and the balance is never off-kilter, in the least. A sleek texture with good intensity for the full journey where notes of mocha and coffee beans emerge on the palate. This has a good fifteen years ahead, over which time, expect this score to rise.