Giaconda - Beechworth Shiraz - 2022

A wine that unfurls gloriously in slow motion – what a lovely shiraz ride. Aromatic aromas hold your attention long and unwaveringly: dark plum, blackberry, wild bramble, raspberry leaf, aniseed, allspice, pepper, sage. Still a youngster with layer upon layer yet to fully explore. Sapid fine tannins drive the long palate with plenty of herb, spice and flecks of savouriness filling out the breadth of concentrated fruit flavour and beautifully woven oak. Discipline will be needed to cellar it for as long as it deserves. 97 Points Jeni Port, The Halliday Wine Companion This is labelled as ‘Beechworth Shiraz’, and comes from the Warner Vineyard and Estate plantings. I reckon I still have a few bottles of the 2004 Estate Shiraz (screwcap I think), and wonder how that’s travelling now. Maybe time to find out! Rich, sweet dark fruit, damp earth and biscuit spice, lots of praline too, all that hazelnut and chocolate is a thing, also some cool mint and floral perfume. Medium to full-bodied, sweet uptake of plum and cherry, and again that hazelnut chocolate theme is repeated on the palate, tannin is fine-grained, and kind of sooty, there’s also clay and petrichor, and the finish is long and packed with choc-mint richness. Love the feel of the tannin, though as a young wine, it’s kind of ebullient in fruit richness. Time should be kind to it.. 95+ Points Gary Walsh, The Wine Front