Ulithorne Singularis McLaren Vale Shiraz 2019

The name sounds more like something that Captain Kirk might be talking about on Star Trek than a fine McLaren Vale Shiraz from an excellent vintage with plenty of years already in the cellar, but no matter. From a vineyard approaching 70 years of age in the Blewitt Springs sub-region, the wine spends the best part of a year and a half in French oak, a portion new. Bottled under cork, the colour here is a dark maroon. There are many wine lovers who will absolutely adore this wine – big and rich and ripe, but it is the use of oak that might be its defining character. This is a wine for lovers of toasty, chocolatey oak – whichever way you fall, the oak is certainly well handled. There are also notes of blackberries and boysenberries, mulberries and plums, mocha and coffee beans. A supple and dense palate with slippery tannins and good length, enjoy this now and for the best part of a decade. If you are a lover of toasty oaked reds, then feel free to add a couple of points to the score.