2012 Thousand Candles Red Blend, Yarra Valley

A blend of pinot noir and shiraz. Made by William Downie. It's a ruminative release. It takes time to unwind and for most of that time it feels like you're being teased. It's cherried, woody, spicy and resolutely tannic. Savoury to its back teeth. It has an energy to it, a cured meat character, a slippery slide of smoky oak. It's the kind of wine Brian Croser refers to as 'water-based rather than alcohol-based'. The flavours certainly seem drawn with a fine-tipped pen rather than anything thick or heavy. It does its level best to fascinate.

95 points Campbell Mattinson winecompanion.com.au