2022 Curator Wine Co Shiraz, Barossa Valley

First up, put this wine at the top of your bargain buys list. Cracking value. It hails from five plots of Shiraz from the home vineyard at Marananga. 10% whole bunches were used in the fermentation, which was done separately for each block. After pressing into French oak, 15% new, the wine spent the next sixteen months happily maturing, before blending. An inky dark maroon colour, the nose exhibits notes of mocha, cassis, chocolate, coffee grinds and tobacco leaves. The texture is seductive, even decadent, and there are abundant but fine and silky tannins. A long and lingering finish, over which the intensity is maintained, ties up an utterly gorgeous Barossa Shiraz. This really is seriously good value. Enjoy it any time over the next ten to twelve years. The score could have been higher, and I have no doubt it will deserve elevation with time. Drink to 2036.

94 points Ken Gargett for Wine Pilot, November 2024

Shiraz sourced across five plots in the Curator Marananga Vineyard; 10% whole bunch, 15% new French oak. Deep, pure fruit tones of blackberry, macerated satsuma plum, boysenberry and black cherry. Layers of baking spice, licorice, milk chocolate, olive tapenade, citrus blossom, roasting meats and scattered herbs. Plush and ripe with a beef stocky savouriness, tight, fine tannin architecture and a long, kirsch-like finish. Drink to 2035.

93 points (Special Value) Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion, May 2024

Curator Wine CO is a family-owned Barossa Valley winery established in 2012 by Tom and Bridget White, with a focus on the exceptional old vine vineyards of the region. They draw on fruit from their own vineyard in Marananga, as well as growers across the broader Barossa.

The small batch wines are made from hand harvested grapes in traditional open fermenters with indigenous yeasts and bottled without fining or filtration. All details of production are considered with sustainability in mind: for the Whites this include being self-sufficient in use of water at the winery and in their home, as well as composting all grape marc in the vineyard that is managed at large through minimal cultivation practices.