2021 Sons of Eden Romulus Old Vine Shiraz, Barossa Valley

95 points Halliday Wine Companion

"... nothing overblown or over the top, just pure, spicy fruit, a graceful passage across the palate..."

Red and black plummy notes take centre stage here, sprinkled with notes of mace, cinnamon and violets, the overall grounded in light ferrous notes. Deep and powerful in the mouth, with dense spicy fruit and an overall velvety caress..

Bring this wine out on a rainy weekend night around the house. It is sublime next to a slow-braised beef cheek ragu over thick pappardelle. We love how the wine’s velvety, plush texture wraps perfectly around the rich, melting collagen of the beef cheek, with neither outmuscling the other.

Keeping it casual? Uncork it alongside a wood-fired pizza topped with spicy salami and black olives.

More about this wine

Sons of Eden takes its name from the two partners, winemaker Corey Ryan and viticulturist Simon Cowham, who both learnt and refined their trades in the vineyards and cellars of Eden Valley.

Their Romulus wines are a blend of sustainably managed Eden Valley vineyards with 50-plus-year-old shiraz vines. The 2021 was sourced from vineyards in three sub-regions of the Barossa Valley: Nuriootpa, Light Pass and Menglers Hill.

The fruit was hand-harvested, destemmed and crushed into small open-top fermenters, then chilled for five days before being allowed to naturally warm up to start fermentation. After 20 days on skins the ferments were pressed and transferred to French oak hogsheads, 45% of which were new. The wine matured for 18 months in oak without racking before the final blend, naturally clarified and bottled without filtration.

Critic reviews

96 points James Suckling, October 2024

A wonderful depth of flavor, with aromas of blood plums, dark cherries, sarsaparilla, olive tapenade, violets and ferric earth. The palate is full-bodied with finely integrated tannins and bright acidity, giving intense notes of sarsaparilla, wild blackberries, sweet spices and mulberries. Structured and generous with an underlying freshness.

95 points Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion, November 2023

Old-vine, 50-plus-year-old shiraz sourced from several sites across the Barossa Valley. Bright red and dark plummy fruits cut with exotic spice, violet and jasmine top notes, licorice, dark chocolate and Barossa earth. Detail and line are recurring themes in the SoE wines; nothing overblown or over the top, just pure, spicy fruit, a graceful passage across the palate and a distinct regional thumbprint. It's drinking nicely now but will improve with careful cellaring. Drink to 2035.