“A cooler year, producing medium-bodied wines of clarity. The voice of place, audible. In this instance, a blend of the more favorable of the estate’s holdings to serve as a magnificent flagship. Yet while the narrative is important, it is this wine’s beguiling, floral transparency that serves the real story. The tannins, delicate; the acidity, filigreed. The effect is one of an intricate mandala, shape-shifting across identities on the palate. Extremely complex and mellifluous, all at once. Quite the transcendental wine, reminding me of shiraz meeting pinot noir in a far off idyll. Drinkable now, but best from 2026.”

“The tannin structure, the meatiness, the mineral. This wine gives an insight into what makes this vineyard so special in a way that I don’t know that I’ve encountered before, in a young wine. It’s like the bookcase has spun around and oh, I get it, there it is, that’s why everyone keeps looking at these books. It has length and complexity and all those things but this wine has more than that. It’s like it’s saying, Let me show you something. I took one sip and thought, Don’t go. I took another and thought it again. This isn’t just a wine, it’s an insight. I remember, in a previous lifetime, someone texting me a line from the Wine Hunter book, which of course is set around the vineyard that this wine is grown on. At the end of the book O’Shea turns to the vineyard that has been his life’s work and thinks, What a mate for a man. That’s what someone texted me, apropos of nothing, without identifying themselves or the book. I opened my phone and there were the words:
WHAT A MATE FOR A MAN!
I’ve always wondered, and wanted, to know what the wines of this mate-of-a-vineyard tasted like when they were young.
Today, from the first sip, is the day that I felt as though I stepped in closer to knowing.
This is a ‘what a mate for a man’ wine.
It’s got something to show you.
Don’t go, I thought, again, after taking another sip. ”

“Good perfume, slight earthiness, blackberry, raspberry and cherry, liquorice and sweet spices. It’s medium-bodied, silky and savoury, distinct toasted hazelnut character, with some ginger biscuit, a mix of red and blue berries, a fine net of powdery tannin, and a savoury and nori-laced red fruited finish of excellent length. Svelte and so lovely.”

“Deep red with a good purple tint and a bouquet that is reticent at first and builds meaty/charcuterie and savoury underbrush aromas with exposure to air. The palate is full-bodied and fleshy, rich and dense with plenty of extract and satisfying length, the tannins and flavour lingering long and harmoniously on the follow-through. A dramatic wine and very impressive. A Hunter shiraz of gravitas, with a great cellaring future. An outstanding O’Shea.”

“Silky smooth in the mouth, squeaky a bit, a mix of pretty stuff, some dark in nature, fresh earth after rain, and wet forest breeze, autumnal leaves. But also fresh red rose petals, a hint of briar rose jam sweetness, and just a whiff of grilled hazelnuts in skins, or Amaretti biscuits as a top note. It’s mostly about tense and flavourful fruit skins, Damson plum-like, with plenty of fine leathery tannins. Black pepper spice to sign things off. I was at 96 first then 97 points.”