96 Points - Erin Larkin
Hailed by critics and wine lovers alike, Dalwhinnie has been growing grapes for nearly 50 years and is now a fully mature vineyard, producing wines that are distinctive, elegant and reflect the benefit of a dry-grown vineyard. Located near the small village of Moonambel in the heart of the Pyrenees region of Western Victoria, this iconic producer consistently delivers some of Australia's most sought-after examples of cool-climate Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.
The 2020 Dalwhinnie Moonambel Shiraz has lovely lifted aromas; dark ripe rich and sweetly spiced, intense black cherries and lifted rose petals. A rich wine with an underlying elegance, this has concentrated dark bramble patch fruits, with freshness and incredibly fine skin tannins. The mid palate is full, with remarkable length and plenty of fine, chocolate savoury tannins. As with all great Dalwhinnie Shiraz, this will continue to build over the coming decade.
"96 Points. The 2020 Moonambel Shiraz is plush and floral, with saturated layers of red berries and sweet fruit, Earl Grey tea, flowers and sweet bone marrow. It’s expansive and beautiful. I challenge anyone who loves Shiraz/Syrah to not love this wine. It has power without being heavy, delicacy without being light, and there’s a softness of fruit and juiciness of structure. It’s ductile, pliable, agile and good. It was bottled with roughly 14% alcohol (as written on the hand-labelled sample) and sealed under screw cap. I feel that the screw-cap closure will mitigate the effects of the warmer season, as this closure is a brilliant preserver of fresh fruit character."- Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate 2024.
