Lloyd Brothers Western Block Reserve Shiraz McLaren Vale 2021
- 95
- $90
- Drink by: 2024-2040
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From the first pour, this delight doesn’t hold back – plump blueberries and blackberries erupt from the glass. Delving further reveals rose petals, a luscious licorice and deep black pepper spice. The texture is silky and supple with lots of fine rounded tannins and seamless acidity. 2021 was a cooler year, allowing the grapes to develop complexity and flavour whilst still ripening to a rich 14.5% abv. Everything is in balance here. It’s unmistakably McLaren Vale but not a fruit bomb, displaying herbal, savoury, dried rosemary and bay leaves. A young wine and built to age, time in the decanter allowed a glimpse of how it will evolve with further layers of dark chocolate, dried blackberries and sultry earth tones.
Nicole loves wine. So much so that she gave up a successful career in Pharmacy, perfected her spitting technique, and moved from sunny Queensland to the wine-drenched laneways of Melbourne. Stints in hospitality, wineries, retail, sales and marketing filled the next few years while Nicole built her knowledge and searched for the right path. She completed the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Diploma in 2016 and became a certified WSET Educator the following year. She now juggles a number of roles including teaching people about wine, curating wines lists for restaurants and bars, judging in Australian wine shows and, of course, writing. In 2016 she won the Negociants Working With Wine writing award and has since contributed to Gourmet Traveller WINE, Halliday Wine Companion Magazine and Nourish Magazine.
