Kirrihill Regional Series Shiraz 2019

Good, everyday wine at a fair price is a right. It is a well-made wine within financial reach, the one we search for on shelves and occasionally find. You know when you taste it whether you’ve found the one. The Kirrihill Regional Series 2019 shiraz from the Clare Valley can be added to that list.

It’s not shy. At 14.5% alcohol, it’s big on personality but not too big, not jammy or unbalanced. It starts with an introduction of pretty florals, sage, black and red berries, licorice and spice. Within the Regional Series credo, this is very Clare Valley. Brimming with personality it has presence in the mouth, walking a firm tannin line festooned with ripe berries and spice. It’s immediately enjoyable, easily drinkable, too. Short-term ageing is also assured. The idea that a $19 shiraz would be awarded 93 points might surprise some. However, if you have been following the work of Kirrihill in the past, there will be no surprise. The producer consistently punches above its weight. This is yet another excellent example of that winemaking philosophy.

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