A McLaren Vale Shiraz masterclass, this is an elite ride through the pleasure zone courtesy of the Ox Hardy Upper Tintara 1891 Ancestor Vines Shiraz 2015. A museum release, this is a wine to cherish and savour.
From one of the earliest vintages on record (surely to be surpassed by the current 2025), 2015 was a dry year with mild ripening temperatures resulting in a compressed vintage.
From the top 17 rows of the Ancestor Vines block planted on the Upper Tintara site in 1891, the fruit was hand picked, hand plunged three times a day followed by almost two years in French oak barriques (33% new).
A wine exhibiting restrained power, it's dense with a veil of silky delight. Blackberries, dark plums, dark chocolate and licorice fold into one another with ease. There is still some primary fruit on show but at ten years of age, the svelte, supple presence is awfully seductive. A fine dusting of dried herbs and fennel add further detail with sheets of baking spice reaching long on a seemingly never-ending finish.
A class act and then some with many years left ahead.
Drink to ten years+
97/100
Region: McLaren Vale
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