2023 Mount Langi Ghiran Cliff Edge Shiraz, Grampians

This comes from quite old vines on the granite soils of the Grampians. It’s a bright, tremendously lively, fragrant, and thoroughly appealing medium-bodied red. There’s an essence of purity, freshness and vibrancy from the first sniff through to the final combination of medium-weight sweet fruit, spices, licorice, and fine chalky tannin that pushes it through to a sustained finish. Drink to 2037.

94 points Ray Jordan for Wine Pilot, July 2025

Whole-berry ferments in open top fermenters; seven to 10 days on skins, matured 14 months in French barriques (25% new). Totally accessible young Grampians shiraz with classic fragrant dark berries to the fore, matched evenly, aromatically with lifted minty-aniseed-peppery spice. It is both generous and bright in personality. The palate is delivered finely textured with fruit and spice running long. Drink to 2032.

93 points (Special Value) Jeni Port for Halliday Wine Companion, March 2025

Deep plummy red in the glass, youthful and vibrant. Fragrant aromas of Asian spice, white pepper, blueberry, soy, dried herbs and sarsaparilla. Deliciously bright, crunchy and punchy in flavour, with lashings of blue fruits, spice and nutty oak. Textured tannins and perky acidity bring it home very nicely. Drink to 2035.

93 points Aaron Brasher for The Real Review, July 2025

The first vines at Mount Langi Ghiran were planted in the late 1800s. The Fratin brothers, of Italian migrant origin, replanted and expanded the site from 1969 onwards, but it was the post-1980 era with Trevor Mast at the helm that defined what Mount Langi Ghiran would become. Today, the estate is part of the Rathbone family’s portfolio of premium wine estates.

Gariweld/The Grampians National Park the is western extremity of the Great Dividing Range and deeply tied to the Djab Wurrung and Jardwadjali peoples, who have called this home for over 20,000 years. In the language of the Djab Wurrung people, Langi Ghiran translates to Home of the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo.

Grampians vineyards sit to the east of the national park on granite sands over sedimentary red clay loam, ideal at moderating natural vigour in vines. This is cool-climate viticulture, with a 350-metre elevation, mean temperatures below those of Launceston in Tasmania and cold prevailing winds from the Southern Ocean.

The 2023 was a challenging season across Victoria. Grampians fared reasonably well in the cool and wet conditions thanks to its well-draining soils and winds that kept the canopies dry.  The region’s 2023 red wines are fresh and aromatic. The grapes for the 2023 Cliff Edge Shiraz were destemmed, with whole berries fermented in a mix of both small and large open-top concrete fermenters. The wine matured for 14 months in French oak barriques, a quarter of which were new.

This is a wine of unvarnished regional and vintage character. The wine opens with aromas of fragrant dark fruit lined with five spice, white pepper and aniseed notes and a brush of dried herbs. The medium-weighted palate is fresh and vibrant with flavours of blue fruit, licorice and spice. The textural tannins add to the wine’s overall lively character.

The wine's blue fruit, five spice, white pepper and fresh tannin profile suits food with some savouriness and aromatic lift rather than richness: Sichuan-style cold poached chicken or Bò lúc lắc (Vietanamese Shaking Beef) with lime and black pepper dipping salt.