ST HALLETT BLACKWELL SHIRAZ 2020

Named after St Hallett stalwart, Stuart Blackwell, this reserve Shiraz, is big and bold. It exudes all the power and brooding density that the Barossa has to offer.

Winery notes (2020 Vintage)
"On the nose, blackberry tart, lashings of berry coulis, fine cocoa and sweet spice elevate from the glass. Intense flavours of blackberry and mulberry are complemented by waves of milk chocolate and sweet baking spice flow across the palate. The supple tannins are well polished, persistent and complemented by the well-balanced oak. This full-bodied, rich and opulent wine is perfectly structured to ensure the wine will age gracefully throughout the years.

Blackwell Shiraz is predominately sourced from the Northern Barossa. Individual parcels are harvested and treated as single batches in the winery. The fruit was destemmed and transferred to various sized fermenters based on the batch size. After pressing, the parcels were filled to American oak barrels, where they matured for 12-16 months."

5 Stars & 95/100 Stuart Knox, The Real Review, November 2022 (2020 Vintage)
"Colour is impenetrable at the core to a deeply-stained ruby red rim. Mulberry, ironstone and dark chocolate aromatics. Rich, dense and weighty, a powerhouse Shiraz that’s loaded with dark berry fruit and layered complexity of savoury graphite and mocha notes. Tannins are powerful but wrapped in velvet, so the palate glides with great persistence to the drying finish. Many years of enjoyment will be found here, and while it’s not cheap it offers great value."

93+/100 Erin Larkin, RobertParker.com, Wine Advocate, September 2022 (2020 Vintage)
"Tasted alongside the 2019, this 2020 Blackwell Shiraz is concentrated, sweet and muscular. The impact of oak feels very different here: the nature of the 2019 and 2020 vintages were not dissimilar, yet the resultant wines are poles apart. Of the wines I have tasted, the 2020s seem to hold far more exuberance and vitality of fruit, and that is the case here with these wines. Very good. Concentrated. Purposeful. You can cellar it, but it's ready now."

92/100 Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, November 2022 (2020 Vintage)
"This release of St Hallett’s renowned Blackwell Shiraz is robust and full-bodied but not overblown. I’d call it measured but the measuring device is a large one. Coal, blackcurrant jelly, clove and toast flavours with sweeter plum-like characters through the middle, and a slightly burnt, woodsy element to the edges. Maybe it lacks some highlights but it’s a good, solid release."