2021 Taylors St Andrews Shiraz, Clare Valley

Deep, bright and youthful purple-red colour, the bouquet is super-spicy with star anise and zar-atar nuances, powerful oak driving it all along. The wine is full bodied and grippy, with slightly unsettled tannins and a distinctly nutmeggy oaky presence in the mouth. It demands more time, and will probably always remain an oaky style. Drink 2026–2038

91 points Huon Hooke for The Real Review, October 2024

A soft and somewhat sweet-fruited red wine with ripe plum, forest berry compote, fig and date notes, all loaded with milk chocolate, clove woody notes, smoky spice and crushed rock and flinty mineral characters. Texture is good, swishes with a web of firming tannin amongst more glossy fruit characters, but the resolution of fruit and oak is a work in progress, with resinous wood overlaid rather than integrated into the riper fruit profile. Stay tuned. Drink 2026-2036.

90 points Mike Bennie for Halliday wine Companion, July 2024

The 2021 St. Andrews Shiraz is full-bodied and charry, with a thick, resinous coating of oak on the ripe fruit. It stains the wine with brown character: woodsy spice and dark chocolate flavors. This is gamey, meaty and full, with chocolate/cocoa tannins and dark fruit. I feel the fruit is at an impasse—it cannot proceed with the weight of oak on it, robbing it of the opportunity to express its terroir. It is a securely deployed style, and it will have its fans. Drink 2024-2036.

90 points Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate, October 2024

Taylors has been farming the Clare Valley since 1969 and is one of the largest vineyard holdings in the region. The St Andrews range sits at the top of their portfolio: a selection of estate grown fruit vinified with more attention to detail, and longer oak maturation than the broader range.

The 2021 season in Clare Valley was good, with solid winter rainfall followed by dry, cool ripening conditions that suited the variety well. The Shiraz was fermented in American oak with extended skin contact before 18 months in a combination of new and seasoned American oak barrels.

Deep crimson, the nose shows blackberry, red plum, violet and liquorice with mocha and vanilla from the oak. The palate is generous and full-bodied with dark fruit, polished tannins and a long finish. Approachable now with a good decant, and will continue to develop over the next several years.

Enjoy the wine with slow-roasted beef, lamb shoulder or aged hard cheese.

Drink now through 2031.