Reviews:

97/100

Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate Feb 2024

The 2021 The Pinnacle Shiraz leads with Earl Grey tea and blood orange, raspberry pip, blackberry jam and tobacco, with graphite, mineral effusion/fan through the middle palate and layers of texture that encompass pockets of flavor. This is a super wine. It has wet earth, petrichor, ductile tannin and everything good and earth-derived. 100% destemmed. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. 

97/100

Max Allen, Australian Financial Review, March 2024

Made from 100 per cent de-stemmed Shiraz grapes from the highest block on the vineyard, matured in puncheons, 20 per cent new, bottled after 15 months. Very seductive wine, really deep black fruit aromas, and a beautiful seam of dark spices – Langworthy describes them as “baking spices”; more allspice and clove and star anise than pepper – leading on to a rich but medium-bodied shiraz in the mouth. Very good.

colour

A very deep dark purple.

aroma

Fragrant warm spices complement the dark plum fruit intensity of this single vineyard wine.

palate

The palate is perfectly balanced with layers of flavour. Concentrated ripe fruits of dark plum and cherry, along with warm baking spices and a touch of peaty, earthiness from the tannins. A persistent long finish ensures that this wine will be long remembered.

cellaring

Cellar for 2–10 years.

vintage

The growing season was ideal, warm but not hot, a perfect amount of rainfall in the growing season allowed fruit to be picked at relatively low potential alcohol, but with a ripe and super fine tannin structure.

winemaking

The Pinnacle vineyard is the highest, steepest site on the estate. Fruit is hand-picked and 100% destemmed, allowing the fruit purity to really shine. The fruit from this site is the earliest ripening and most concentrated of the single site blocks at Dalwhinnie. Aged in 20% new French oak puncheons for 15 months.