Savitas Wines Incygnes Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2018

Savitas Wines is the project of a group of like-minded friends including Matt O’Leary, who will be known to many as an integral member of the Wolf Blass team for many years. Savitas, which began operations in 2015, might be a world away from Blass when it comes to size but Matt remains focused on making cracking reds. Savitas is likely to always sit amongst the small, prestige producers. You might not find these wines on supermarket shelves, but they are worth the search. The first label under Savitas is Incygnes and there are four wines. We looked at three of them – the Shiraz, Reserve Shiraz and the GSM. There is also a Grenache Rose. 

The name Incygnes is Latin and means gem and the label was created because the vineyards/wines are regarded as gems by Matt and his team. This GSM is the cheapest of the three Savitas Incygnes wines I looked at and, while I really liked them all, this was my pick – making it a cracking bargain in the mid thirties.  A mature red colour, the aroma offers lovely cherry notes, spices, red fruits, tobacco leaves, dry herbs and cigar box characters. A gorgeously slippery palate, this is exhibiting superb balance and real length – just delicious. The blend provides the early stages of some building complexity. The palate is fresh, seamless and surprisingly elegant, supported by bright acidity. Love this. No question it will age well for a decade, but it might be a bit hard to keep your hands off it for that long.

Ken Gargett

Contributor at Winepilot

Ken was born and bred in Brisbane, Queensland. He had a non-trendy, perfectly happy childhood, in a family convinced alcohol meant instant condemnation to Hades. But a break fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, and some good wine, started a serious obsession that eventually took over. It did not stop Ken being chastised later for drinking Pol champagne, disgusted he’d drink anything made by a Cambodian dictator. Now, Ken mostly writes on wine, champagne and spirits for various newspapers, magazines and books, but is perhaps best known for his work in The Courier Mail. He also has a little sideline writing on cigars, fishing, travel and food. When not writing, fly-fishing for trout in NZ or bonefish on the flats of Cuba, travelling or smoking cigars, he is no doubt following a variety of sporting teams – the occasionally glorious Queensland Reds rugby, the dysfunctional Washington Redskins, the dodgy Arsenal and especially revels in the world restored to its proper axis with the return of the Ashes to their rightful home.

Wine writer and critic