Passel Estate Margaret River Shiraz 2017

The 2017 vintage in Margaret River wasn’t easy, cool for the most part with wet weather; it was saved largely by an Indian summer. It’s holding quite well for a five-year-old from a tough vintage, but I wouldn’t hold it for another five. Enjoy now. The maker refers to the fruit for this wine as “old vine” shiraz, although no age is given. It certainly reveals fair depth and concentration in the fruit department. Aromas of black cherry, plum, nutmeg, cassia bark, earth-gravel and a touch of fungal-truffle. Intriguing. There’s a strong line of savouriness in prune, leather and earth running across the palate accompanied by roasting herbs, spices, dark chocolate. Ten months in French oak (30% new) brings a toasty, nuttiness to the wine, but it remains well-integrated. Tannins are equally savoury and dense. In short, there’s a lot happening in this Marg’s shiraz. The grape is increasingly a rare phenomenon in the region, give it a go.

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