A deep, dark claret red in the glass, with a lovely pop of boysenberry, plum, smoky white wood, raspberry, black pepper, cloves and cocoa on the nose. Lighter than I expected into the palate – the oak is prominent and frames the juicy fruit flavours, but isn’t obtrusive, rather offering structure and spine. A balance of red and black fruit notes – quite open and bright, with a fine, crisp acid line. Generous tannin gives more structure through the middle, and whilst the texture is smooth, there’s a firm poise to the wine that makes it really ‘sit up’ rather than sink into the spiced, sweetening finish. 92pts
St Hugo Barossa Shiraz 2018
