2018 Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz, McLaren Vale

There is plenty to love here, from the saturated veil of dark fruits, the allspice underbelly of clove, star anise, cardamon and oak-derived cinnamon to the swathe of soy and Peking duck lacquer. Yet despite the morass of fruit and warm, thick mouthfeel, the oak is average and the finish harder than it needs to be, stunting what should be a long, viscous flow of fruit and medicinal scrub. A good wine. It should be very good.

93 points Ned Goodwin MW winecompanion.com.au

Some of the fruit that goes into this highly awarded wine is sourced from a premium McLaren Vale vineyard planted in 1910, where the bush vines produce some amazing, concentrated flavours. Full of gnarly old vines, this vineyard has been lovingly restored to prosperity by three generations of the original owner, Pasquale Maglieri’s family, who all still live and work on the land he prospered all those years ago. The vineyard site has a northerly aspect with east west planted rows to help protect the fruit from the hot summer sun, alluvial fan clay soil allowed the vines to establish a very deep root system. Access to reliable good quality water provides a measure of drought tolerance for the vines, made notable by the high quality of fruit produced during the recent run of dry vintages. Only made in the best years, in very small quantities with limited allocations, Reserve Shiraz is not only a forerunner in developing the reputation of Fox Creek, but also the McLaren Vale region; showcasing exceptional fruit quality, structure, complexity, balance, elegance, length of flavour and approachability when young with long term cellaring potential.