2023 Head Wines Shiraz The Brunette, Barossa Valley

Deep and full ruby colour with an intriguing nose that sings of blackberry, wakame, and crushed violet petals. The palate is full and dense, ripe black and blue berries are the baseline but it’s the iodine/seaweed savoury element that really ramps up the character here. It's textural and powerful, dark and brooding with a visceral sensation to its character. Wonderful length, backed by iron-fist-in-velvet-glove style tannins. This is a wine that demands all your attention 15 Oct 2025 Drink 2025–2041

97 points Stuart Knox therealreview.com  
#1 of 109 2023 Shiraz from Barossa Valley

For grapes to make the cut for this wine, they must come from vineyards which outperform every year and which “represent the ‘dark-side’ of Shiraz in the Barossa”. The main component comes from the Flaxman Valley which is, somewhat paradoxically for a valley, one of the higher sites in the region, planted in 1965. The colour is garnet/magenta, fading to red on the rim. The nose offers notes of leather, cassis, dark cherries, blackcurrants, ripe raspberries and a hint of bacon fat. There are delicatessen meats and herbs, with a touch of warm earth. A seamless wine which lifts on the palate, it offers laser-like focus, silky tannins and great length. Intensity throughout, but a wine which has muscle and yet exhibits such immaculate balance. Fifteen to twenty years aging potential here. A stunning Barossa Shiraz.

96 points Ken Gargett winepilot.com

Shiraz sourced from the Fechner 1908 plantings in Moculta at 320m in the Eden Valley; 10% whole bunch, 15 months' maturation in French oak, 33% new. Ripe, juicy plum and dark cherry fruit tones with hints of brown spice, mountain herbs, polished leather, dried meats, dark chocolate and earth, with some lovely purple floral top notes. The wood spice from the maturation sinks back into that plush fruit nicely, with soft, pumice-stone tannins and a bright mineral line as it slowly retreats. Lovely drinking.

95 points Dave Brookes winecompanion.com.au

Drawn from old vine Barossa parcels, this Shiraz shows the darker, more brooding side of Head Wines, built around depth, spice and structure rather than overt sweetness. The Brunette is shaped by warm valley floor sites where ancient soils and low yielding vines produce fruit with natural concentration. Even with Barossa generosity at its core, the style leans toward savoury detail and balance, reflecting Head’s focus on vineyard expression over excess.

Winemaking is confident but measured. Extraction is designed to build fine tannin and length without flattening the fruit, while oak adds frame and spice rather than dominance. The aim is a wine that feels plush yet controlled, combining power with clarity.

In the glass it shows an inky ruby with purple hues. Aromas are deep and layered, opening with blackberry, dark plum and blueberry, followed by cracked pepper, liquorice, cocoa and warm earth. There is a savoury ironstone note that anchors the richness.

The palate is full bodied and velvety, with dense dark fruit wrapped in firm, polished tannins. Acidity keeps the wine balanced, carrying flavours of black cherry, spice and savoury chocolate through a long, mouthcoating finish. The texture is muscular yet smooth, built for both immediate impact and slow evolution.

It pairs beautifully with grilled steak, slow cooked lamb, game and rich winter dishes. Drinking impressively now with air, it will cellar confidently for ten to fifteen years, developing leathery and spice driven complexity.

This is Barossa Shiraz in a shadowed register, powerful, savoury and grounded, a wine that trades flash for depth.