Krondorf King’s Mantle Shiraz 2022

It’s way too easy to warm to the charms of this Barossa Shiraz, which is no mean feat given it is powerfully built and exuding a real sense of complexity and power. The best selection of Krondorf’s vineyard sites, King’s Mantle might intimidate, but then you are quickly seduced by the friendliness of the spices, the allure of violet aromatics, the tension and overall style wrought by the tannins and before you know it, your glass is empty. Aromas of blueberry conserve, black plums, blackberry, sage, black olive, chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg and liquorice. Layers of spice and dark violets remain ever-present as a savoury earthiness arises on the palate with undergrowth, sage brush and black olive notes mingling amongst the fruit and oak. Plush and almost silky it moves with grace finishing on a high chocolatey spice note that keeps going and going. A wine worthy of the cellar.

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