"Well, this is a very nice wine! Floral, liquorice, hazelnut, a little pepper and spice, fresh blackberry and black tea. It’s perfumed, earthy, all sooty but supple tannin, soft but balanced acidity, fleshy and plump, cocoa and coffee bean, distinct violet thing happening too, and a soft gummy tannin finish that carries very long. Wonderful. Really different, and so beautifully made. It’s a delight." 95 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front

Out of the 2020 vintage ashes of burnt vineyards and lack of rain, a silver lining needed to be found - here it is. Looking closely at the wines over the cooler months, it became apparent that what I'd search for in Reserve wines we already had in the shed. Not so much sheer power or richness, but rather a charm, finesse, and detail.

In an act of cunning (or perhaps defiance), I kept the best of the 2020 Shiraz, Chardonnay and Grenache aside for a little longer than the regular line-up, on lees and unsulphured, as is our mantra. The theory being, that these wines are actually a little more reticent, they take more unfurling and, to me, show greater texture and complexity of flavour as a result. - Glenn Barry, Winemaker