The Wine Advocate | Erin Larkin |APRIL 2025
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Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
The Laird 2020
The 2020 vintage was the third in a string of dry hot years, and this was marred by disastrously low yields, owing to heat and 80 kilometers per hour winds during the flowering. The 2020 The Laird is from the Gnadenfrei vineyard in Marananga, planted in 1958. The Marananga growing area is known for producing powerful, muscular, tannic Shiraz, and I tend to find the full-throated shout of flavor and concentration to be both convincing and a little exciting. The Laird does exactly this, holding back for no person and providing no subtlety nor mystique. Tasting it, one wonders if these things are strictly necessary anyway; here, we have unbridled power and intensity, old-vine tannic thrust and a black hole of impenetrable fruit, with notes of peat, leather, peppercorns, sweet roasted meat, pan juices and forest moss. It's an iconic wine that has retained its soul and purpose over the years, decisive, distinct, potent and precise, haunting and evocative. The dry-grown vineyard has been there longer than many of the people saying it can't be done. There's something in that
98
Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
The Forebear 2020
The 2020 The Forebear is sourced from the oldest plantings in the Hillside Vineyard in Lyndoch12 rows planted in the early 1850s. For this tasting, the wine has been open now for three hours, and yet it needs more in the way of oxygen than what it currently has. The wine remains aromatically closed, with notions of black fruit, exotic spice, charry oak and forest floor. This has peat, old leather, jarrah and black cherries in profusion. The palate is shaped by intense graphite tannins, which feel closely knit and exclusively the property of old vines; they are silty and settle in the mouthif you need a visuallike watching a pint of Guinness settle in the glass. A monumental wine, it needs space and quiet to be able to absorb the layers of complexity and undulating waves of flavor through the finish
98
Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
RunRig 2022
The 2022 RunRig had 2% Viognier added to the Syrah after barrel maturation, from the current vintage. I've clarified this with winemaker Ian Hongell, because my incorrect memory ran toward skins only. Glad I asked. Aromatically, the wine is so fresh and detailed; it hints at latent power and intense concentration, but it doesn't overbear on this point. On the palate, the wine has everything we could hope forintense, balanced red fruit, a splay of ductile tannins and such a light fluffiness to the profile that I find it most appealing indeed. The discussion here today is regarding the comparison to the great 2021 vintage. It was a freak, out-of-the-box year that blessed producers with a spot-free growing season, good yields and excellent quality fruit. The wines, for the most part, will endure through the decades with grace and ease. The 2022s are tighter, fluffier, more fruit forward and, in my opinion, slightly more delicious, but over the long term, backing the 2021s to go the distance seems the blue-chip option. We can discuss this again in 20 years (2045) when that answer will have become more clear. In the words of Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast." I love this wine today. It's a superstar. 15.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork and wax.
94
Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
Les Amis 2022
The 2022 Les Amis Grenache is from a dry-grown Grenache vineyard, at around 320 meters in elevation, with blue stone, schist and ironstone on a bedrock of clay. Perfume and aromatic lift define the wines made from this place. It matured in small casks, with 30% to 40% new oak. The wine is rich, chocolaty, dense and fulsome, with dry savory spice and a variety of deli meats on the palate. It's a powerhouse of a wine, all gnarled muscle and gravelly length, accurately underpinned by pomegranate, wet garden rose and ferruginous tannins. 15% alcohol, sealed under natural cork and wax.
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Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
The Factor 2022
The 2022 The Factor is a celebration of old-vine vineyards in Barossa. Aromatically, this philosophy is clear as day in the wine. Barossa is stylistically adaptable and flexible, and at its best, it's able to convey a sense of meatiness, charred bacon fat, alongside kicked red earth and brick dust, an array of exotic spices and purple fruit, all the while conveying balance and focus. These are the best examples of its capability. All of these things are evident in this wine, and it shows concentration and length in spades. It's a big, powerful wine but balanced too. Excellent.
97
Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
Descendant 2022
The 2022 Descendant is a co-fermented blend of Shiraz and Viognier (8%), and the wine exudes masses of floral perfume, which translates accurately in the mouth. It is silky and intense; the tannins are ductile and pervasive, and yet they have a bloody, ferruginous note that makes their dispersion feel more like an infusion than a framework. It is chewy and weighty, without being heavy or swaggering. Awesome wine. Superb. 15% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.
95
Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
The Pict 2022
the 2022 The Pict Mataro is from a vintage that may always sit in the shadow of the excellent 2021 that came before it, yet for me, the 2022s have been such excellent and sometimes quieter iterations that I find myself preferring them more and more. As to which will be longer lived, time will tell, but 2022 is not a vintage to be underestimated. The wine leads with macerated cherries, pomegranate molasses, goji berries, black peppercorns and tapenade. On the palate, the wine is creamy and gravelly and a little boozy through the finish, and yet the fruit wears it well. I clarified the following with winemaker Ian Hongell (from my note written last year): "The fruit is from a 1901 planting, planted in the middle of a paddock. 'There's sheep and one tree. And some rocks,' says winemaker Ian Hongell." He agrees; this is the case with the vineyard. The vines were planted 124 years ago and produce wines with close-knit gravelly tannins, silky fruit and persistent length. This is another Torbreck wine that speaks so clearly of Barossa.
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Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
The Steading 2023
The 2023 The Steading comprises a blend of Grenache (57%), Shiraz (33%) and Mataro (10%). The wine is chocolaty and rich and abundant in fruit and spice detail. Shapely tannins define the palate, and the finish is long and concentrated. This wine has a long and popular history, and it is pleasing to see that continued here today. The cool and wet 2023 season is not overly evident in the wine in the glass here; perhaps it is slightly lighter than last year, but it lacks none of the concentration or density of the cuvées past. 15.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork
95
Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
The Gask 2023
The 2023 The Gask is a single-vineyard wine from Eden Valley, and it is a powerhouse of concentration, density and purple persistence. This wine is intimidating in its power, but it also inspires something like awe in the fact that the wine was grown like this; the fruit naturally produces the concentration and power that we see here in the glass, and it speaks of the Eden so clearly in its expression. 15.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork and wax.
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Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
The Grower's Cut 2023
The Grower's Cut is a wine I've not seen before (neither, historically, has The Wine Advocate), and it's a wine that changes every year, depending on the performance of the grower vineyards throughout the growing season. Each year, a 100-case bottling, released to the wine club and available at the cellar door in Barossa, is made from the best-performing vineyard—white or red, regardless of variety—and apart from the single bottling, the chosen grower gets an additional incentive each year. I love the concept of this—it promotes excellence and pride, and the resulting wine is a testament to the grower's hard work throughout the year. So, to the wine! The 2023 The Grower's Cut is 100% Shiraz from Paul and Janelle Amos, whose vineyard is on Kreig's Road in Seppeltsfield, in western Barossa. Aromatically, the wine is steeped in floral perfume and exotic spice: garden rose, pomegranate molasses, raspberry pip, milk chocolate and sandalwood. The wine is chalky, concentrated and powdery. It's a magnificent wine, one that shows true Barossa blood and grit, ferruginous tannin and concentrated density. Wines like this can come from nowhere else on the planet. This is a brilliant wine. Excellent. 15% alcohol, sealed under natural cork and wax.
95
Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
The Struie 2023
The 2023 The Struie is a blend from Eden and Barossa, melding the higher altitude austerity and structure of Eden with the density and muscle of the Barossa. I like this wine, because if you sit with it for long enough, you can clearly see the component parts side by side. The whole makes the understanding of the parts. You get the blueberry, black cherry, licorice, crushed quartz, aniseed and dark chocolate of Eden married to the bloody, earthy, gritty muscle of Barossa. Awesome. 15% alcohol, sealed under natural cork and wax.
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Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
Hillside Vineyard Shiraz Roussanne 2023
The 2023 Hillside Vineyard Shiraz Roussanne contains 7% Roussanne, and it performs in a similar way to Viognier, in that it retains vivid color, contributes floral perfume and creates a streamlined effect with the tannins. The wine is almost gravelly in its chewiness, yet this feels very much "vineyard-derived," which I view to be most positive. The alcohol feels an active participant in this wine, yet it doesn't impact the freshness of the fruit in any way; and given the almost lack of oak flavor (seasoned in 4,500-liter French oak foudres), this seems to be a fine character to absorb while tasting. It's a lovely wine. I like the authenticity of it. 15% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
92
Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
Woodcutter's Shiraz 2023
The 2023 Woodcutter's Shiraz is perfumed and vital with garden rose, pomegranate, raspberry, blood plum and tapenade. The wine is rich and flavorsome, and it accurately delivers the Barossa message encased in ferruginous tannins and bloody, earthy fruit. It's excellent and a great value for money at under $29 AUD/USD. 15% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
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Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
Cuvée Juveniles 2023
The 2023 Cuvee Juveniles is a blend of 48% Grenache, 28% Mataro, 13% Carignan, 6% Counoise and 5% Shiraz, and like the Cuvee Juveniles Blanc, is named after the wine bar for which it was created, Juveniles Wine Bar in the 1st arrondissement in Paris. The wine is savory and fresh, perfumed with abundant red fruits, flowers and exotic spices. In the mouth, you get star anise, fennel seeds, black peppercorns and fresh blood, and the mouthfeel is shaped by ferruginous tannins. While this wine may not be as complex as some others in the lineup, it lacks nothing in the way of freshness, personality and detail. It's a beautiful wine, from a cool and wet season in the Barossa. 15% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
92
Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
Woodcutter's Rosé 2024
The 2024 Woodcutter's Rosé is 100% Mataro (Mourvèdre, for those not in Australia or Portugal), and the wine conveys earthy richness and density endemic to the variety. This is ripe and full, with flowers and red fruit on the nose and an array of brick dust, sandalwood, hung deli meat and crushed rocks through the finish. The wine was matured in a combination of stainless steel (70%) and old oak for three months. Strawberry, mulberry and blood plum complete the fruit profile. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
94
Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
The Steading Blanc 2024
The 2024 The Steading Blanc is a composition of Roussanne (63%), Marsanne (28%), and Viognier (9%), and the wine is equal parts floral, chalky phenolics and preserved citrus fruits. It has a burst of fresh saline acidity in the mouth, and the wine seems a perfect fit for the soils of the Barossa. The fruit is from the Descendant vineyard on Roennfeldt Road, first planted in 1994. This is very good. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap
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Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
Cuvée Juveniles Blanc 2024
The 2024 Cuvée Juveniles Blanc was released in August 2024, and the wine has almost sold out. Named after the wine bar for which it was created, in the 1st arrondissment in Paris, the wine is textural and clothy, with wet chalk, lemon pith, white flowers and brine. It's a lovely wine, quite savory and detailed, with good length. The balance of the 2024 season is evident in the glass and on the persistent finish. This is very good. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
94
Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
Woodcutter's Semillon 2024
The 2024 Woodcutter's Semillon is from a spectacular year in South Australia. It was warm and dry and everything good—"Goldilocks," in the words of winemaker Ian Hongell. On the back of the wet 2023 season, the soils were charged with moisture, and the growing year proceeded with calm and health. Everyone I met with so far, from both Barossa and McLaren Vale, has stars in their eyes about this vintage. Here, the wine leads with fresh-cut straw, lemon pith, green apple skin and white flowers. The wine is sleek on the palate; the phenolics are chalky and kick in through the middle palate and finish, but it remains a tightly focused, streamlined wine. I like the focus and detail here; the wine shows length and precision, but it has very little width and breadth, which are attributes in Barossa Semillon. Excellent. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
93
Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
Viognier 2024
The 2024 Viognier is from the Eden Valley, and it leads with an array of flowers and pressed soap, blueberry, strawberry, ripe summer apricot and orange peel. The wine is concentrated and perfumed, and the tannins provide shape and chew. This is fulsome and rich, with a churned butter character on the mid-palate. which is most attractive. The 2024 season is so far showing to be balanced, concentrated and detailed. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
93
Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE
Marsanne 2024
The 2024 Marsanne leads with white chocolate, star anise, fennel, pineapple lumps and white flowers. It's ultra pretty and engaging its purity and distinction. The wine has so much personality, and it might be the birdsong wafting in through the open window as I type, but the wine has dappled detail and harmony that is most pleasing. A delight. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
