Glaetzer Wines Wallace Shiraz Grenache 2021

The two Barossa amigos – Shiraz and Grenache – give a display of upfront persuasive Barossa power minus their usual friendly third amigo, Mourvèdre. Can’t say I miss Mourvèdre. Maybe it’s the quality of the old vine Shiraz – off 50-80-year-old-vines – and even older vine Grenache – 50-100 years. Maybe it’s the decision to minimise Grenache’s time in oak which allows its sweet spice and red fruited liveliness to shine. Whatever the reason, the two hit it off beautifully with a warm, welcoming display in aromas of blackstrap licorice, blackberry, raspberry, earth and background leather. Good intensity of sweet, ripe fruit to taste with floral notes and lifted red berries, plums and spice with added texture that leads the wine into some mighty friendly drinking territory. Generous to start, it firms up nicely courtesy of an established tannin presence.

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