2021 Charles Melton Voices of Angels Shiraz, Adelaide Hills

An elegant shiraz, with grapes sourced from a single vineyard up Mt Pleasant way in the Adelaide Hills. I've always wanted to pinch that plastic pig from outside the butcher's there but have refrained (excellent mettwurst though if you're passing through). There's a raspberry top note to the wine, red plum and black cherry beneath with hints of spice, pan juices, bay leaf, cedar, dried orange rind, almond blossom and crushed stone. There's such a graceful slide of fruit across that palate, silky tannins and some lovely plum skin acidity. It's such a balanced and delicious wine now but I can see some upside that's for sure. Drink 2025 to 2045.

97 points Special Value Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion June 2025

My understanding is that the name here dates back to a Springsteen concert in Adelaide quite a few years ago which Charlie, quite a few others and I were all at (by accident, rather than design). So while I may claim the most tenuous of connections to the name of this wine, I can claim nothing else. A shame, as this is a truly cracking example of what can be achieved in the Adelaide Hills from a wonderful vintage. 100% new French oak, though it swallows it without a hitch. An appealing mauve purple, which belies its age, the nose is exhibiting utterly gorgeous aromatics, a veritable spice kitchen. This is a bit like wandering through an Indian spice market, full of every imaginable smell and aroma, on a cool day. Cherries and raspberries, aniseed, florals and orange rind notes. I could smell this wine all day. Seamless in structure, this is generous and yet refined, with superb silky tannins, great length, immaculate balance and so persistent. This has another ten years of pleasure ahead of it, likely more, but one almost wonders how it could get much better. The Boss would be proud. Drink 2024 to 2034.

97 points Ken Gargett for Wine Pilot, November 2024

Charlie Melton established his winery on Krondorf Road in the Barossa Valley in 1984 and is one of the region's most influential winemakers. His daughter Sophie now works alongside him.

The Voices of Angels sits apart from the rest of the Charles Melton range as it comes not from the Barossa but from a single small vineyard near Mount Pleasant, in the cooler part of Adelaide Hills, and close to Eden Valley.

Five percent Riesling is harvested and co-fermented with the Shiraz, a technique that fuses the two varieties at the point of fermentation rather than blending them later. The result is an aromatic complexity and mineral lift that distinguishes this wine from anything made purely from Shiraz. The fruit is split on arrival: 85% destemmed but uncrushed, 15% whole bunch. Extended time in a mix of French and American oak before bottling.

Bright crimson, the nose is intensely perfumed and lifted — violets, red plum, liquorice and mulberry with bramble and a floral mineral thread from the Riesling component. The palate is full and beautifully balanced with fine ripe tannins, vibrant acidity and a long, fragrant finish. A wine of genuine originality that rewards the patient as much as the curious.

The 2021 was an exceptional vintage, and this wine should continue to evolve with further time in bottle. Cantonese roast duck or goose would be the dream match for a mature bottle.

Drink now through 2035.