2019 Polygon 1
Estate grown and made
Certified organic and biodynamic fruit
100% Shiraz
46 cases and 50 magnums produced
13.5% alcohol
"Deep bright red-purple, not too dark, but pellucid. Lots of pepper and spices on the nose, with underlying dark berries. A hint of iodine. The palate is tremendously rich and concentrated, fleshy and gorgeously textured, with high extract and masses of supple, silky tannins. An outstanding wine that already drinks magnificently and should age long-term. (Old vines. 100% whole bunch fermented. Mainly made in concrete plus one seasoned puncheon)."
97 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
"After mapping and separating the Alkina vineyard in Greenock into tiny patches known as polygons, based on varying geologies, the winemaking team has made tiny amounts from the most distinctive of them in what they deem the results of intense research and extreme commitment. The prices of their Polygon wines reflect this and their rarity. Even within just a 0.4 hectare section, four distinct parcels have been further separated for this unique creation of shiraz, 100% whole bunch fermented in concrete before nine months in a ten year old barrel. Lifted with raspberry and chocolate notes, peppery spices - almost Szechuan, certainly an Asian pantry feel – this immensely attractive, medium bodied, open-weave wine is simply delicious to drink. Chinese dishes for sure, though it’s so appealing on its own."
95 points, Tony Love, winepilot.com
"Deep cherry red, much darker than the Grenache wines. Dark and pure and a touch smoky/reductive. Rocky, dark dust and also a little bit floral. Dark and with a touch of peony, so northern Rhône. If I had tasted this blind, I would have been in Côte Rôtie. Also a balsamic note. Layered, complex, hints of smoked meat. Juicy but with scratchy tannins. Tight and moreish and strong but very fine, highly toned but elegant. Tannins need time but they bottled this early to capture the aroma. Roundness from the fruit. So fresh and long. Clean in your mouth like dark chocolate, plenty of dark fruit but no Shiraz sweetness. More linear than broad. The tannins melt on the second day. Sheer, tender beauty."
17.5/20, Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
"From a single schist polygon of 0.75 acres (0.34ha), defined on Pedro Parra's second visit in 2018, this was 100% whole-bunch fermented in a 450-US-gallon (1,700-liter) concrete tulip, basket-pressed, and matured in a 10-year-old, 114-US-gallon (430-liter) neutral barrel previously used for a rosé ferment, resized by a cooper in the Barossa. Dark in color, showing notes of coffee and dark berry, and tinged with pepper and spice, it displays a youthful, lively freshness, closer to northern Rhône Côte-Rôtie or Cornas than Barossa Shiraz, and already delicious drinking."
95 points, Anthony Rose, World of Fine Wine Magazine
"Deep crimson. Wax polish, blackberry, liquorice, chinotto aromas. Well concentrated and supple with blackberry, chocolate, liquorice root, herb flavours, hint sappy textures and underlying bittersweet/ chinotto notes, Finishes chalky firm and minerally. All fruit and rock. Very different but pure, richly flavoured and precise. 100% whole bunch vinification. Matured in seasoned 400L barrel for nine months. 562 bottles & 50 magnums made. 13.2% alc."
96 points, Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal
"This comes from a thin strip of old vines behind the homestead, just 0.4 hectares. And yet they have four separate parcels from it (the parcel in the middle, just 0.097 hectares, lacks the schist content and is therefore excluded). The other three sit on ‘heavily fractured micaceous schist’. Total production was just 46 cases and 50 magnums. This is Greenock Creek Shiraz at its best (the Creek winds its way through the vineyards, so the reference is to the sub-region and not the winery of that name). 100% whole bunches and then fermented in a concrete tulip, before spending nine months in a ten year old barrel. What a brilliant Shiraz.
Notes of exotic spices (an Asian spice shop), beef stock, vegemite, chocolate, delicatessen meats, black fruits, warm earth and cassis abound. A glorious, supple texture here. Again, like all the 2019s, there are notes very reminiscent of the Rhone Valley. The palate shows serious concentration of those chocolate notes with aoft and satiny tannins and immaculate balance. Really adore this wine."
98 points, Ken Gargett, winepilot.com
"The 2019 Polygon 1 Shiraz is spicy, taut and mineral-driven. This has shape and slender form, with pepper spice and all the things, black tea, graphite, etc. There are also notes of lamb fat and cloves as well as dark chocolate, mulberries and licorice. It is savory and exotic and exciting. Although, it does take some getting used to because it is quite different from other Barossa Shirazes - it is pure and febrile rather than big and tannic. This was fermented in concrete and finished off in a custom 420-liter barrel. The fruit for this wine is from a tiny 0.4-hectare polygon and is part of the Old Quarter of the vineyard. The vineyard was split into four distinct parcels, and in three of those parcels, vines grow heavily fractured micaceous schist. One small area of 0.097 hectares in the middle lacks the schist content and is excluded from the ferment. 46 cases made and 50 magnums. "
93 points, Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate
