Penny’s Hill Cracking Black Shiraz 2022

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A lovely medling of dark fruit and spice in the form of blackberry, plum, dark cherry and sweet baking spices such as nutmeg and cardamom. There’s gentle coal and bacon fat beneath, and some mocha and dark chocolate, all of it wrapped up in a restrained and elegant aesthetic. The palate is full bodied but lifted, with a good burst of intense blackberry and black cherry again, along with lashings of bitter dark chocolate, ground coffee and an ashy coal nuance framed within assertive stacked chalky tannins and very high acidity. There’s some warmth to the finish (14.5% abv), though it’s controlled. A food wine, for sure, and a lot to like about this, especially at the price point.

Tom Kline
Wine Critic at Winepilot

Tom Kline is a wine writer, reviewer, presenter, and educator based in Victoria, Australia. He is the Australian correspondent for the internationally respected publications Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy and Jane Anson Inside Bordeaux, where he highlights the top tier of Australian wine for a global audience. Tom also writes for leading outlets including Decanter (UK), Wine Spectator (US), and Halliday Magazine, among others. An experienced wine show judge and WSET educator, he has authored several consumer-focused wine courses aimed at making wine more accessible and engaging. In 2023, Tom was awarded Best Published Feature Article or Wine Column at the prestigious Wine Communicator Awards, presented by Wine Communicators of Australia.

Wine tasting and writing
Pilot
Date
Variety: Red Wine, Shiraz