Terre à Terre Crayères Vineyard Reserve Cabernet Shiraz 2022

The Crayeres Vineyard in South Australia’s south-east Wrattonbully region is home to French expat Xavier Bizot’s much loved Great Australian red blend, which in this Reserve iteration comes as a 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Shiraz and 17% Cabernet Franc trio, matured for 14 months in new French barrels, then 6 months in old larger foudre vessels, then 18 months in bottle before release. That patience has been rewarded with a beautifully expressive wine, the Cabernets leading the aromatics with an elegant fragrance, florals, crushed red berries, fine white chalk dust, all of which flow forward into a medium to full bodied palate, slippery in some senses with a seasoning of Mediterranean savoury herb and spice elements. There is serious power within this wine at this stage of its long life, even with a tannin coating that offers a well-tuned balance of structure and texture. If you can, keep a few for 10-20 years down the track.