2021 Schwarz Wine Co Schiller Shiraz, Barossa Valley

Incredibly dark, inky, opaque and impenetrable in colour. Decadent and lifted aromas of stewed plum, mulberry, sweet spice, oak, charcuterie, graphite and bramble. There's a whole lot going on here. Dense, brooding and powerful in flavour. Lashings of plush, fleshy dark fruits, spice, sweet, nutmeggy oak, licorice and dark chocolate. There's firm tannin and bright acidity keeping the opulent fruit in check and the length has power, poise and balance. Big time Barossa. Drink to 2039.

95 points Aaron Brasher for The Real Review, September 2024

Stick your nose in the glass here, and could it be anything else but Barossan? Circa 1880s-planted vines too, no less. Deep, plummy fruit tones with hints of dark chocolate, fruitcake spice, a wash of oak, sour cherry, blackberry conserve, licorice and earth. Full bodied and packed with powdery tannin before a chocolatey, spicy finish that has a slow fade. Drink to 2038.

94 points Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion, August 2024 

A broad, textured and dense shiraz with aromas of dark cherries, warm spices, black pepper and some meaty undertones. Medium- to full-bodied with fine tannins. Velvety and lively, with a delicious peppery lift and a long, precise finish. Drink or hold.

93 points Kevin Dacy for James Suckling, November 2024

Dark and inky in the glass, the 2021 Schiller Shiraz opens with stewed plum and mulberry, charcuterie and graphite, threaded with sweet spice and a touch of licorice. The palate is dense and broody, with plush dark fruit carried by firm, ripe tannin and a lift of bright acidity that keeps the richness in check. Dark chocolate and warm spice run through to a long, powerful finish.

The charcuterie and dark chocolate notes here want something with a bit of char and spice: black pepper-crusted wagyu skirt steak, mole-style grilled chicken thigh with ancho, or a board of air-dried bresaola and aged pecorino all sit naturally alongside this one.

More about this wine

This is a single vineyard wine, with fruit grown by the sixth-generation Barossa grower Tom Schiller in the family vineyard in Hallett Valley, Tanunda. The soils are a mixture of loam, black Biscay and red clays. Fruit for Jason Schwarz’s Schiller Shiraz is from centenarian vines planted in 1881 by Carl August Otto Schiller.

The 2021 season in Barossa Valley was a mild one, and the resulting harvest was exceptional: wines with great colour, depth and good acid retention.

The fruit was hand harvested, de-stemmed and fermented with indigenous yeasts. After 18 days on skins, with gentle pump-overs and hand plunging, the wine was basket-pressed and matured for 21 months in French oak barrels of which 47% were new.

About Schwarz Wine Co

Jason Schwarz is a sixth generation Barossan who grew up surrounded by vines at his parents’ property in Bethany. His own label presents a portfolio of small batch wines that reflect both the vineyard and season they came from.

His winemaking style seeks vibrant and balanced styles through intuition rather than restraining himself with rules or science.