Handpicked Collection Barossa Valley Shiraz 2019

Destemmed with regular pump overs. Matured for 12 months in French oak hogsheads and puncheons, one third of which were new. A swoon worthy wine, pop this in big old crystal glass and I know many drinkers that would pay triple the price. Here you’ll find a backdrop of blackberries, plum compote and soft licorice. Oak is nothing but the best quality and showing its swirls of treacle, hot chocolate and cardamom pods. Its got assertive acidity and elegance but it drills down on the sweetness of oak and ripe fruit, making for a meaty palate and some very smart grainy tannins. There is a red velvet cake like moistness to the chew of this wine, it takes you from under ground, to top soil, to leaf litter and into the tops of tree branches and flowers scent on the breeze. So much bang for your buck. All class! Drink now and serve this with garlic lamb ribs and a loyal friend. This will be a moment to remember.

Shanteh Wale

Contributor at Wine Companion

Shanteh cut her teeth at Sydney’s Award-Winning Quay restaurant where she worked for over a decade and was Head Sommelier from 2018 till 2022. She has been nominated for the Good Food Guide Sommelier of the Year award on three occasions and claims that her experience as a Len Evans scholar as one of the highlights of her career. Shanteh hosts her own weekly podcast ‘Over A Glass’ with the Deep in the Weeds Network and spends her time writing for various publications and judging at numerous wine shows across the country.

Wine journalismpodcastinghost