Balgownie Centre Block Shiraz

From the oldest plantings on the now 50-year-old Bendigo estate, with 1.5% Viognier in the mix. Spends 24 days on skins with 20% whole bunches, then matured in 20% new oak for 12 months. Pure class. There’s a cascade of flavours here that mark it as the top tier in Vic Shiraz. Pencil shavings. Dark fruit. A passing nod to bacon fat and sage, then a modulated palate with fine-grain tannins and no alcohol excess. This is what mod Australian Shiraz is about – ripeness, unmistakable generosity of flavour, but also delivered with a sense of shape and purpose. Delicious wine. Best drinking: now to twenty years.  95 points rated by James Halliday