2019 The Forebear

A brand new cuvee. The inaugural release comprises fruit from a proprietary property in Lyndoch, documented as the second winery built in the Barossa Valley. Vineyard planted in 1850s on its own rootstock. I really like this. An earlier picked site, spending two years in oak and three years in the bottle pre-release. Despite the typical Barossan weight, there is ample freshness. Baking spice, licorice, saturated dark fruit, iodine and forest accents. The tannin structure is chewy and nourishing. Long finish. Plenty to get the teeth into. This is an excellent wine. Drinkable now, but best from 2030.

- Ned Goodwin MW (02/2024)

A stunning red wine, this starts off spicy, with distinctive notes of Saigon cinnamon, cardamom and clove adding warmth and depth to the generous core of black fruit flavors and blackberry preserves. Offers hints of dried herbs, tobacco and cedar, along with a slice of Black Forest cake that lingers on the finish. Shiraz. Drink now through 2044. 100 cases made, 8 cases imported.

- M.A.W. (12/2024)

The 2019 The Forebear Shiraz is the inaugural release of this wine, positioned alongside the Laird. The fruit is sourced from the oldest plantings in the Hillside Vineyard in Lyndoch—12 rows planted in the early 1850s. The wine is astounding. It is inky black in its fruit spectrum, infused from all sides with gravelly tannin that feel both velvety and gritty; there's loads of chewy tannin to support the kaleidoscopic fruit, and monumental length. This is a very impressive wine, memorable and precise. I can understand why a single vineyard was made from this special parcel. So, on the nose, you get mulberry, blackberry, blueberry and ironstone, rust, blood plum, raspberry pip, aniseed, sumac and clove. The tannins splay across the palate and leave a trail of ferruginous spice in their wake, with inflections of ras el hanout, pomegranate molasses, pink peppercorns and roast beef crust. This is a whopping wine. Superb. 15% alcohol, sealed under natural cork and wax, with a black front label.

- Erin Larkin (04/2024)