Château Tanunda 50 Year Old Vines Barossa Shiraz 2023

The 2023 Barossa vintage was noted for its cool, wet La Niña influenced weather which delayed harvest and gave more hang time for fruit. This is not a bad thing, especially when the results in the glass are this good. It may not be quite as bold as previous releases, but this old vine Shiraz retains a lovely elegance. The scent is like driving through the vineyards of the Barossa with the window down and breathing in a sun-filled perfume of Aussie bush, hints of gum leaf and warm earth with the scent of ripe, dark berried grapes, cherries, toasted oak and spice. Smoothly crafted, medium bodied and gently paced with fine tannins well in place and running deep, it finishes on a lively note of anise and spice.

Jeni Port

Wine critic at Winepilot

Jeni Port is one of Australia’s top wine communicators. Based in Melbourne, Jeni created the first wine column in the (then) Sun News-Pictorial before moving over to The Age and becoming that paper’s longest-serving wine writer. Over the years she has written for most Australian wine magazines and these days calls WinePilot home. She is also a Tasting Panel member on the Halliday Wine Companion. She was named Wine Communicator of the Year and Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2014 and in 2018 Legend of the Vine. She is a founding board member of Australian Women In Wine and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.

Wine writer and critic