Saltram No.1 Shiraz 2021

A top year and a top wine tend to go hand in hand. With Saltram No. 1, it’s all about weight, texture and a nicely developing complexity produced in this exceptional vintage. Fruit was sourced from a number of vineyards across the Barossa, and these days the wine sees an all French oak regime – no American – which translates into a more modern Barossa Shiraz interpretation. Dark cherries, black fruits and plums to the fore, sweet fruited and studded in woody spice with plenty of chocolate and anise in the background. There are sparks of salty black olive tapenade, a savoury influence. To the winemaker, those saline notes are “seasoning.” So, there’s plenty of seasoning here, too.