2015 «««« Drink now to 2030.

Medium-deep crimson. Intense blackberry and liquorice aromas with inky herb garden and aniseed notes. Well-rounded with inky blackberry and plum fruits, fine/lacy and slightly leafy textures, underlying savoury walnut nuances, mid-palate richness and fresh-integrated acidity. Finishes chalky dry, long and sweet. Classic with lovely fruit generosity and structure.

64 percent shiraz, 20 percent grenache and 16 percent mataro.

Bordering on elegant but supple and soft. (JH)

Savoury pepper, clove and crushed black cherries. Rich, expressive and firm in structure but showing lovely ripe fruit and a full-bodied sweetness. (FW)

2016 ««««« Drink now to 2036.

Medium-deep crimson. Intense blackberry, plum and aniseed aromas with sage and herb garden characters. Generously proportioned with blackberry and redcurrant fruits, fine cedar textures, wood spice notes, attractive generosity/ viscosity and integrated juicy acidity. Textbook Penfolds House Style with really superb density and richness.

72 percent shiraz, 16 percent grenache and 12 percent mataro.

Quite bulky and primary, but the essential balance is there. (JH)

A cracker. Beautifully balanced wine where plush fruit and spicy richness meet sinewy texture and firm, sculptural tannins. NICK RYAN

2017 «««« Drink now to 2032.

Medium-deep crimson. A fruit-bomb type wine with explosive blackberry, mulberry and blue fruits with musky complexity. Deep-set juicy dark plum, blackberry fruits, fine dense powdery tannins, superb mid-palate viscosity and fine tannin drive. Elemental but delicious to drink.

68 percent shiraz, 23 percent grenache and 9 percent mataro.

Seductive pure darkly fruited musky flavours and supple firm tannins. Should open up its closely guarded secrets soon. (NB)

Extremely promising, well-balanced young wine with loads of blue fruits and strong velvety tannins. (JR)

2018 ««««« Drink now to 2035.

Medium-deep crimson. Scented pure blackberry pastille and raspberry aromas with herb and shellac notes. A dense, juicy palate with abundant quince, blackberry and raspberry fruits, some ironstone/ferrous notes and fine, lacy, loose-knit tannins. A distinct and authentic Barossa style with lovely background demi-glace/meaty complexity. Ready to enjoy but worth waiting for a while.

68 percent shiraz, 22 percent grenache and 10 percent mataro.

Marananga, Barossa Valley, South Australia

T H

E W

IN E

S

/

B IN

3

8 B

A R

O S

S A

V A

L L

E Y

S H

IR A

Z G

R E

N A

C H

E M

A T

A R

O

1 8 9

T H

E R

E W

A R

D S

O F

P A

T IE

N C

E

1 8 8