SHAW + SMITH - Balhannah Vineyard Shiraz - 2020

SHAW + SMITH

Balhannah Vineyard Shiraz 2020

- 95 points -

From a relatively close-planted plot on clay, ironstone, quartzite and shale. Whole bunches fermented wild in open tops with minimal agitation. A headily aromatic shiraz with notes of lavender and green olive and an underbelly of verdant herb and mezcal, the legacy of whole bunches in the ferment. Notes of damson plum, red cherry, violet and sarsaparilla trail across a raft of peppery tannins, a bit drying due to the low-yielding year. A whiff of iodine, peat and smoked meat lingers. This will benefit from some patience.

Ned Goodwin MW, July 2023


About James Halliday (Australian Wine Companion)

Respected wine critic and vigneron James Halliday has a career that spans over 40 years, but he is most widely known for his witty and informative writing about wine.

As one of the founders of Brokenwood in the Lower Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, and thereafter founder of Coldstream Hills in the Yarra Valley, Victoria, James is an unmatched authority on every aspect of the wine industry, from the planting and pruning of vines through to the creation and marketing of the finished product. His winemaking has led him to sojourns in Bordeaux and Burgundy, and he is constantly in demand as a wine judge in Australia and overseas.

James has contributed to more than 56 books on wine since he began writing in 1979. His books have been translated into Japanese, French, German, Danish and Icelandic, and have been published in the UK, the US and Australia. He is also the author of James Halliday's Wine Atlas of Australia and The Australian Wine Encyclopedia.