Tasting Notes

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  Goedhuis, October 2021

  The Slate Shiraz is an extraordinary wine as it is made from the original slate open fermenters, last used nearly one hundred years ago by Thomas Hardy himself. This is a spellbinding Shiraz which boasts such a sleek structure and vivid fruit. Texturally, it glides on the palate and sweeps into a dramatic lift which gives freshness and elegance in spades. This is one to lay down and forget about for a while.

• 

  Matthew Jukes, December 2020,
  Score: 19+

  If you take every word that I have written in the 2018 vintage note for slate and swop out the Bandol reference for Cornas from Allemande you will see, once again, that this statesmanlike 2019 Slate Shiraz has nailed it again. If anything this vintage contains even more potential and even deeper wells of thrilling fruit. There are coffee notes, hung game hints, dark chocolate and tar references, but these are filigree details to the all-pervasive, omnipotent Shiraz fruit. Once again, this is not a big wine. This is important to underline. It is a medium weight fellow with mind-bending purity and intensity and this is what makes it so unforgettable and also desirable. Drink 2022 – 2030

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Tasting Notes

• 

  Matthew Jukes, December 2020,
  Score: 19+

  I wrote the rather baffling expression, ‘beyond minerality’, when I first tasted this wine. This was a knee jerk reaction to the elemental force contained in this fruit coupled with the unquestionable, but also the unfathomable impact that the ancient slate fermenters have on its expression. If you haven’t already, you must read the story of this magical ‘equipment’ from the long-derelict winery into which Ox has breathed life. The colour alone is absurd – it is Mordor in a glass. The earth and spice remind me of only one other wine on earth – Tempier’s Cabassaou and so I opened up a bottle of this wine, on the spot, to compare to 2018 Slate and the attitude, nobility and stance were identical. Sanguineous, vampiric, epically layered and super-fine this is a phenomenal release. While the nose and mid-palate are truly magnificent in their measured delivery, the trademark Ox finish arrives, freshening the palate and ending with ‘happy ever after’ purity and calm. As you will see by my words and also my score this is a deeply impressive wine. Drink 2022 – 2030

Tasting Notes

• 

  Matthew Jukes, December 2020,
  Score: 20+

  I was very fortunate to taste the only bottle of this vintage in the country and I understand that it is not yet released in Australia, so this is somewhat of a scoop. Given I only had a tasting sample-sized glass with which to make my notes so this is a somewhat cramped review, but I can tell you that this is yet another stellar interpretation of the vines which Thomas Hardy planted back in 1891. So deep, so closed and yet so refreshing, the power-to-weight ratio here is mind-blowing and the monastic control on the palate confounds any form of devotion I have ever heard of. By far the most introverted and centred AVS to date, at eight years old, this wine is refusing to budge, but there is so much potential here it is staggering. We are witnessing the birth of a vinous superstar, and with 2008 and 2010 in the back catalogue, and knowing just how serious the great 2012s are from other wineries in South Australia, I can safely say that I expect this wine to unfurl over the next two or three years into one of the finest Shiraz/Syrahs on the planet. As far as experiences go, my sip and a half took me on an even more fascinating journey than the near-perfect 2010 but, of course, I didn’t reach the destination. Nevertheless, I was overwhelmed with just how expressive and also how distinguished this wine felt on my palate and so it would be remiss of me to give it anything less than a perfect score. Drink 2024 – 2045