Glaetzer Wines Amon-Ra Barossa Valley Shiraz 2021

Ben Glaetzer unashamedly turns the volume up on Amon-Ra. The winemaker likes a full-blooded Barossa Shiraz and knows how to deliver it. No apologies. In the 2021 vintage, he has seasonal conditions – mild, dry with a long Indian summer thrown in – that fit his modus operandi and Amon-Ra style. Alcohol runs at 15%, the dense, dark purple colour is stain-worthy and high tone spice and woodsy oak play a prominent – and it must be stressed, positive – role. This is a traditional Barossa heartland kind of Shiraz, almost impenetrable, but with life and vitality. Vibrant, ripe blackberry, bramble, damson plum with heady fruitcake spice notes, licorice block, leather and earth sit well entrenched at the heart of this wine, full-bodied and mouth-filling. Cedary, woodsy oak performs a big embrace of fruit, ably assisted by generous tannins. You know it’s crying out for more time in bottle. Be assured, it can deliver more. Why unfiltered? “To ensure minimal intervention with the wine’s natural characteristics,” is the answer from the winemaker. That is, nothing is removed by filtration. It remains tantalisingly whole.