Awards & Reviews
Shiraz from 1960 plantings off the Old Bamboo vineyard in Greenock. Blackberry, blackcurrant pastille and black cherry compote with hints of leather, tobacco leaf, baking spices, cocoa powder, licorice and earth. Traditional in style with the sheen of leathery oak and some red-fruited tones coming into play on the palate with tight, fine tannins and a meaty edge to the finish.
92 SILVER Dave Brookes
Published 31 October 2023
This week I am talking about a cracker-jack Shiraz. With around 2,300 out of Australia’s current 2,500 wineries making a Shiraz, it is hard to stand out from the crowd and be recognised, unless your name is Penfolds Grange, Henschke Hill of Grace, Wendouree, Australis or a handful of other Shiraz of renown that have been made for eons- usually with a pretty much unchanged label, so that it has become familiar to many if not most Australian red wine drinkers. So to today’s wine needed to be something special to stand out in the crowd, and it is. The Yelland & Papps 2018 Limited Cuvee #barossavalley #shiraz (vines planted in 1960) (sealed under cork) Is sensational. For a start the current release is 5 years old (these days even Grange is only 4 years old). The colour is deep, dense almost black, it has a rich deep, complex bouquet of plums, dusty oak, a dash of herbs and a smidge of maturation complexity. The divine palate is rich, round, silky smooth with masses of complicated flavours and beautifully balanced tannins on the long lingering elegant finish. This wine is SUBLIME & WORLD CLASS!!!Check it and the rest of the outstanding Yelland & Papps range at www.yellandandpapps.com I can assure you that their wines will never disappoint you.
DAN’S WINE BLOG- THIS WEEK’S WINE REVIEW
This edition comes from grapes sourced from the 1960-planted vines called the Old Bamboo vineyard in Greenock. To taste this wine is to be arrested by your senses and taken on a journey through time, to when the world made some sort of sense. Black cherries, Mirabelle plums and black sesame paste. Nyon olives, cloves studs and woodear fungi. Blackberry hand candy and soft licorice straps, the wine feels nostalgic and familiar, a hint of emotion creeping in perhaps. Oak asserts itself but no more than the beautifully ripe fruit. Leather varnish, red cherry acidity and dusty tannins round out the finish. You are left with cinnamon dust and lasting memories. It’s a beautiful wine that shows why sites like this are built for the long haul. Drink now and will continue to cellar for 3 years or more. A beautiful wine on its own or eaten with a great steak sandwich.
95 points Pilot Shanteh Wale
Shiraz from 1960 plantings off the Old Bamboo vineyard in Greenock. Blackberry, blackcurrant pastille and black cherry compote with hints of leather, tobacco leaf, baking spices, cocoa powder, licorice and earth. Traditional in style with the sheen of leathery oak and some red-fruited tones coming into play on the palate with tight, fine tannins and a meaty edge to the finish.
Dave Brookes
Published 31 October 2023
HALLIDAY RATING 92 SILVER
From 1960s vines planted in the Barossa sub-region of Greenock, this Limited Cuvée has been released with five years bottle age. Dense and weighty, it carries less alcohol than its more vibrant 2019 sibling. Tasting the two releases side by side was quite the treat.
Over a few days, this 2018 gradually revealed itself, seemingly keeping its true personality close to its chest. Charred steak and pan juices frame a basket full of dense dark berries. A little compote and sultana on the mid-palate is then swamped by chocolate brownie, Christmas cake, licorice and baking spices. Super fine tannins ride long on a persistent and moreish finish. Be patient and you’ll be rewarded.
Drink to ten years+
92/100 Qwine
Old vine Shiraz shows its class here. Colour is deep and intense. Hearty, ripe blackberry, dark plum fruit aplenty set the scene alongside baked earth, black liquorice, heady spices and chocolate. The palate is dense with solid fruit concentration. A noticeable level of woodsy oak is in play, but overall the power of the fruit manages it well. A spicy thread runs long through the wine, an enticing addition, before finishing with good length. Long, sturdy tannins support the wine, and give the drinker confidence in cellaring further.
92 points Pilot Jeni Port
This comes off 60-year-old vines of the Old Bamboo Creek Vineyard in Greenock. The quality of the fruit allows a substantial mix of first-fill French oak puncheons and additional seasoned oak to be used without compromising the fruit expression. Dense and concentrated with tremendous power driving from a deep midpalate core. Dark savoury plummy fruit with a faint hint of dried herbs and coffee grinds. This is rich and syrupy with such poise.
96 points Pilot Ray Jordan
