2012 - Ox Hardy 1891 Ancestor Vine Shiraz - 3x75cl

MJ1, January 2023, Score: 20+

Andrew Hardy is a winemaking superstar in Australia. He is also a very experienced wine judge, having Chaired the Royal Adelaide Wine Show many times and my own, The Great Australian Red Show. Aside from his family’s famous vinous heritage, Andrew is most wellknown for crafting Petaluma (Adelaide Hills, Coonawarra and Clare Valley) and Knappstein (Clare Valley) wines, receiving extraordinary acclaim. Andrew is also among Australia’s most respected and influential wine industry leaders. A fifth-generation winemaker, he is the greatgreat-grandson of Thomas Hardy - the ‘Father of the South Australian Wine Industry’. Andrew is now into his fourth decade (he won’t thank me for this!) of making elite wine, and yet I think he is finally managing to craft near-perfect wines with every label he releases. Exacting standards and epic raw materials, coupled with a burning desire to encourage his vineyards to express themselves fully in the glass, make these wines which speak from the heart as well as from the elemental soils in his family vineyards. Interestingly, I tasted a handful of these wines with David Robert MW. Two of his expressions/impressions stood out – “You won’t taste a better bottle of wine this year” and also, “I was lucky to taste some ’82 and ’96 First Growths the other day, and this wine gives them a run for their money” (both comments refer to the 2010 vintage of Ancestor Vines Shiraz)! No self-respecting wine collector can declare their cellar complete without a few cases of these wines in their racks. I was very fortunate to taste the only bottle of this 2012 vintage in the country, and I understand that it is not yet released in Australia, so this is somewhat of a scoop. Given that I only had a tasting sample-sized glass with which to make my notes, this is a slightly cramped review, but I can tell you that this is yet another stellar interpretation of the vines that 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, this wine is refusing to budge at ten years old, 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 vintage, but I didn’t reach the destination. Nevertheless, I was overwhelmed with just how expressive and also how distinguished this wine felt on my palate, so it would be remiss of me to give it anything less than a perfect score 20+/20 score.