Levrier by Jo Irvine Argos Eden Valley Shiraz 2015

Jo Irvine has quite the wine background, her father James widely recognised as one the country’s leading producers of merlot. Jo resisted the wine temptation for a couple of decades before coming back to her roots. The Argos Shiraz is her own take on the classic Eden Valley Shiraz given the Rolls Royce treatment.

It is a superb regional expression showing Eden Valley’s renowned more savoury style and, in this case, the benefits of age. The colour remains deep and opens up with beef stock, soy sauce, blackberry, sage and spice aromas well supported by high quality oak. The palate is then quite muscular – acidity and ripe tannins supporting its rich layers of dark berry and black olive tapenade flavours. Earthy, mushroom complexity is also in the mix suggesting this wine is close to its peak, but no doubt has the balance to hold for at least another five years.