2022 Spinifex Bete Noir Shiraz, Barossa

Opaque in the glass, with a deep ruby red tone at the rim. Blackberry, musk stick, black pepper and black olive notes all lift from the glass and repeat on the palate. A deeply powerful wine that is more about its savoury complexity than the primary fruit. Meaty and bloody undertones linger along the line, tannins have intensity and drive to them without becoming gritty. Dare I say, a more old-world style. Drink 2025–2041.

96 points Stuart Knox for The Real Review, January 2025

Shiraz sourced from the subregions of Moppa, High Eden, Light Pass and the Eastern Foothills; whole cluster varied from between 15% and 45% depending on the parcel but equates to about 35% in the final blend. Deeply coloured and one of the broodier examples of Peter's wines with deep, wonderfully pure blackberry, black cherry and Doris plum fruits, cut with clove, bay leaf, crushed rock, dark chocolate bullets, black tea, meadow herbs, olive tapenade and roast meats. Purely fruited with a crushed rock savouriness, great length of flavour and a bright seam of acidity that lifts everything up on the finish.

95 points Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion (Special Value), March 2025

Spinifex approaches Shiraz from a very different angle to the classic Barossa stereotype, leaning into detail, spice and structure rather than sheer weight. Pete Schell works with carefully selected parcels across the Barossa and Eden Valleys, often from cooler sites and older vines, aiming to capture a more savoury, northern Rhône-inspired expression while still reflecting the region's warmth.

Bête noir — the bane of one's existence — is an apt name for a wine built from six separate parcels across Moppa, High Eden, Light Pass and the Eastern Foothills. Managing that many small, individually farmed sites is genuinely demanding work, but the reward is a blend with a layered complexity that a single vineyard approach rarely achieves. Parcels are handled separately through fermentation before being assembled into the final blend.

The 2022 is a dark and brooding — deeply coloured, with blackberry, black cherry and Doris plum on the nose alongside clove, bay leaf, black tea, olive tapenade and roast meats. Around 35% whole clusters across the final blend add structure and a savoury, old-world complexity that sets this vintage apart. The palate is deeply powerful and meaty with crushed rock savouriness, intense and driving tannins that stop well short of gritty, and a bright seam of acidity lifting everything through to a long finish. More about savoury complexity than primary fruit.

The wine's savoury depth and fine structure are good company for anything that's been given a bit of time: slow-braised duck with juniper and red wine, a Provençal lamb daube with olives and orange peel or a grilled côte de boeuf with bone marrow butter.

Drink now through 2041.