Birks Wendouree - Shiraz - 2022

The 2022 Shiraz leads with scraped vanilla pod, sandalwood, raspberry leaf, strawberry, blood plum, sweet roasted bone marrow and star anise. In the mouth, the wine is shaped by ultra-fine tannins and has a wash of saline acidity that courses through the fruit. This is a pared-back landscape, but it is not sparse. The wine shows flow and persistence without the volume and amplitude of the previous 2021 vintage. It stains without heft. A finer, bloodier expression than last year, all of it is weighted on the middle to back palate, which drives the force of it through the long finish. It is cleansing. I think this will be a quiet achiever in the cellar over the long term. 96+ Points Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate