2023 Birdsong Shiraz
Earthy and dark fruited with a distinct mineral edge. Charcuterie, blackcurrant, balsamic notes and tobacco leaf show complexity and depth. The wine is medium weight, with bags of flavour and an upright sense of structure.
Estate grown and made
Certified organic and biodynamic fruit
[VARIETIES] 100% Shiraz
[ALCOHOL] 13.5%
[PRODUCTION] 500 dozen made
[CELLARING] Drink now or will cellar for 10+ years.
Old-vine, certified organic and biodynamic shiraz from several plots within the Alkina estate in Greenock. Magenta-splashed crimson with aromas of blood plum and blackberry with hints of Chinese five-spice, olive tapenade, potter's clay, pepper, tobacco pouch, blueberry pie, rust and earth. Beautifully weighted with gorgeous plum tones, chalky tannins like a mist settling on the fruit, composed and graceful with a real sense of space and place. Super stuff.
95 Points, Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
A shiraz! From multiple parcels.Quite a lean and compact shiraz, sinewy tannins though, pumice-stone texture, succulent with blood orange acidity in red cherry, cranberry, with truffle, brick dust and light mocha elements in play. Draws long and to a fine, firm point, feels bony and structural in the same breath. Dried herbs, peppery spice galore. The restraint and purity, alongside herbal detail, here will have people searching for cool climate landscapes. Intriguing.
93+ Points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front
Fine-boned and delicately framed, the spicy notes of Shiraz are thrust to the foreground here, with a feisty savoury character attached to lean, sinewy fruit. This complex union of many components comes from across the Alkina vineyard at Greenock: fruit from Blocks 5 and 6 having 60% whole bunch, fermented in concrete; young vines from Block 23 fermented with 100% whole bunches providing vibrancy and lift; Blocks 38 and 26a co-fermented in stainless steel with 30% whole bunch; Polygon 11 having 100% whole bunch, fermented in concrete. The sum of this provides mineral bite as well as dark red-fruited crunch. The slim mid-palate boasts an elegant structure and an edge of balsamic sweetness, before finishing bone dry with the softest chalky tannins leaving a lip-smacking desire to taste more.
95 Points, David Sly, decanter.com
Deep purplish crimson with purple-pink rim. The aroma is the essence of elegant Shiraz, dark-fruited for sure but also lightly perfumed with violets and a contrasting combination of creamy sweetness and stony minerality. You can't smell acidity but somehow this smells fresh. A very fine balancing act seems to have resulted from the complex blending and selection process. On the palate, again a contrast between a juicy freshness and a dry, firm tannic refinement, as well as a subtle fragrance. A wine that is far from showy but commands your attention, and is yet easy to enjoy without over-thinking. Long and bone dry with a chalky-fresh aftertaste. Tannins are too well defined to drink this without food, at least for now.
17/20 Points, Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
