2023 Flametree Shiraz, Margaret River

Lots to enjoy here – from the dark purple hue and heady aromatics to the supple palate – and nothing out of place. Sweet dark plums are spiced with licorice, sumac and a more savoury woody/nutty note. The fuller-bodied palate is rather buoyant and supple, although with plentiful tannins. The texture of hazelnut skins adds shape and the juicy acidity is refreshing, so this finishes on a high note. Drink to 2031.

95 points (Special Value) Jane Faulkner for Halliday Wine Companion, June 2025

A potent mix of blood plums, steeped boysenberries and squashed mulberries. Black olives sit side by side with rosemary and thyme. A hint of clove studs and granitic, sandy potting soil. There is almost a pillow of blue fruit too, its assertive tannins provide the framework to hang the lush fruit upon. A sappy wine with stuffing that manages to still have an ease to the drinkability and leisure like quality of the overall product. It’s tip top! Drink now or will cellar well for another 2-4 years. This would look the bees knees beside a butchers trimmed lamb cutlet. Drink to 2029.

93 points Shanteh Wale for Wine Pilot, June 2025

Spice-driven with aromas of red plums, blackberries, white pepper, violets, cloves and tapenade. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, supple tannins and bright acidity, offering a fresh, savory mouthfeel with a long finish. Elegant and expressive with a slight reductive edge. Drink or hold.

93 points James Suckling

A youthful and bright red in the glass. Vibrant aromas of blueberry, dark cherry, spice, dried herbs, earth, mulch and bramble. Mouth-filing, bright and fleshy on the palate. Plum, blackberry and a briary, minty edge are all doing their thing. Long, textured, crunchy and snappy in flavour. Drink to 2035.

90 points Aaron Brasher for The Real Review, May 2025

More about this wine

This Shiraz is made from 2023 fruit, a prolonged, dry season of moderate temperatures and cool nights, and considered one of the best the region has had in the recent years.

It is a regional blend of three Margaret River sub-regions, with 40% of the fruit sourced from each Wallcliffe and Willyabrup, with the balance being from Yallingup. All three vineyards feature gravel laterite soils providing moderate crops with good fruit concentration. Drip irrigation was applied strategically at flowering, veraison and during the warmest days in January and February.

All parcels were fermented separately. Some included sundried stems and up to 30% whole bunch, while the Wallcliffe ferment also included some whole berries. The wine matured for ten months in seasoned French oak puncheons.

About Flametree

Established by the Towner family in 2007, Flametree built its reputation quickly by winning the Jimmy Watson Trophy with their very first red wine and establishing themselves as a serious Margaret River producer from day one. Winemaker Cliff Royle selects fruit from growers across the region’s distinct subregions, with the S.R.S. — Sub Regional Series — representing the pinnacle of that selection.