K Road Shiraz 2021

I’ve long been fascinated by the vineyards at Shadowfax, on K Road, near Werribee. Indeed I’m fascinated by the land there in general, with its flats and drop offs, river and roaming semi-forests. Not to mention the near by mansion itself. Anyways. To the wine, which saw 50% new French oak. This is very good. Excellent fruit power and excellent complexity. Black pepper, roasted meats, black cherries, seaweed and plum with woodsy spice notes aplenty. If you like peppery/spicy styles of shiraz, you will love this. It finishes in fine style even if the tannin clumps slightly – though this will likely resolve itself in time. It is to all intents a lovely, lovely wine.

The K Road Shiraz comes from a 24-year old vineyard down Werribee way and it’s a reserved expression of Victorian Shiraz, potentially thanks to time aging in new, large oak. Every piece of the wine is in its place right now but it is just a little shy. The colour is deep and impressive before launching into ripe mulberry fruits with touches of eucalypt and pepper with a gentle meaty edge, the fruit seeming a little bound up in new oak. Fleshy, mouthfilling dark berry flavours follow with plenty of fine grained tannins helping to draw out a lengthy finish. I suggest putting this down for a few years but if you must drink it soon give it a couple of hours in the decanter. I’m also betting this Shiraz will be a fair bit better in a couple of years time.

Aromatic and plush, this 2021 K Road Shiraz is spicy, red-fruited and powerful. There's a river of flavour that cascades over the tongue, and it is punctuated by red, ferruginous tannins. There's a medicinal character on the middle palate-it's pleasant and possessed of a mountain herb/arnica character. It sits in concert with the fruit and complements the flavours that are in the mouth. Above all, it's delicious, really pleasurable and has great flow. Sultry almost.