2019 Glaetzer Amon-Ra Shiraz

Amon Ra is Ben Glaetzer’s flagship Shiraz named after an Egyptian God who was considered to be the King of all Gods. According to Ben Glaetzer the key to Amon Ra Shiraz is balancing the fruit and tannin extraction rather the maximising it – “the fruit has such expression that we aim to preserve the characteristics of the vineyard rather than dominate them.” Fruit was sourced from a range of vineyards, aged between 50-130 years old, with a strong emphasis on fruit quality, rather than simply selecting parcels of fruit because they were from old vines. The wine was matured for 16 months in 100% new oak of which 5% was American and 95% French. It was bottled unfiltered. According to winemaker Ben Glaetzer, the sheer quality and balanced concentration of the fruit from the 2019 vintage was astounding.
Magnificent colour, impenetrable inky black at its heart with an exceptionally deep dark purple black hue. Intoxicating the olfactory senses are potent aromatics of ripe blackberry, liquorice and fresh dark plum followed by some ripe blueberry, vanillin oak, subtle dark chocolate and spice notes. Super rich, densely textured and ultra concentrated, the palate is a power house of dark plum, blackberry and liquorice fruits which then shift into vanillin oak, blueberry, subtle dark chocolate and spicy pepper characters on the back half. Monumental in its size and structure with firm yet velvety tannins melding into an exceptionally long and luxuriously decadent finish.
Drink over the next 10-15 years.
Alc. 15.5%

Other Reviews….
The 2019 Amon Ra Shiraz is 100% Shiraz and 100% from the 2019 vintage, as Ben Glaetzer felt it—unlike many previous vintages—didn't need to be freshened with a small proportion of younger wine. From old vines in the Ebenezer district of the northern Barossa Valley, it offers classic notes of blackberries and spice, framed by hints of cedar and vanilla (it's aged in 100% new oak hogsheads, mostly French). It's full-bodied yet crisp, supple but tight and really long. Offering lovely dark fruit, hints of espresso and black olive, it finishes mouthwatering and firm. Give it some time in the cellar and drink it from 2025 – 2040.
96+ points
Joe Czerwinski – Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate