2023 Forest Hill Vineyard Block 9 Shiraz

Bright and inky yet juicy with ripe, chewy tannins and a long peppery finish.

From vines planted in 1985. Magnificent dense inky black colour with a near equally deep dark purple black hue. Pronounced blackberry, liquorice and dark plum aromas flood the nostrils followed by some smoky vanillin cedar, scorched earth and peppered meat notes. Rich blackberry, liquorice and dark plum fruits carry a youthfully inky yet juicy feel across the medium to full bodied palate. Notions of spicy vanillin cedar, scorched earth and peppered meats lurk underneath. Showing ample freshness it has ripe chewy tannins and a long peppery finish.
Drink over the next 6-8 years.
Alc. 14%

Other Reviews…..
Multiple picks from the single site lend complexity to the wine. Medium weight, silky textured and highly perfumed red wine with a pleasing, savoury bent. Red cherry, a touch of cola, some green olive, game meat, dusty spices, mint and pepper. Lithe and fresh feeling with a light dusting of grippy tannin that falls in a web over the wine. A sense of elegance, and a distinct 'syrah-like' sensibility to this wine. It's not trying too hard, but effortlessly makes the (high) grade. Drink by 2035.
95 Points
Mike Bennie - James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion

Intensely pigmented – magenta almost. This is young, but so expressive. A core of black fruit, brambles and wild blueberry spice is layered with baked salt, milk chocolate toast, charcoal and plenty of savoury, terracotta dust. A wild, iodine, ferrous note compels. The palate is vivid, with a mouth-filling energy that draws a long line of fruit, hung taut with fine, lacy, yet firm acidity. This is so vibrant and concentrated that it’s like a new palette of gouache paints, vivid and pure and filled with excitement for what is to come from it. Whole bunch spice squeezes the palate, and the almost chalky tannins are structural without bulk. This feels like an expression of the vineyard, there is no oak or overworked winemaking to get in the way of the expression. A wonderful union of people and place. Drink 2025-2039.
96 Points
Cassandra Charlick – WinePilot.com