Nice packaging too

Evans & Tate Redbrook Shiraz 2009 (Margaret River, WA)
14.3%, Screwcap, $35
Source: Sample
www.mcwilliams.com.au

A brief admission – I rarely love Margaret River Shiraz. Margs is, and always will be (until climate change further kicks in), a Cabernet region. There are good examples of Margaret River Shiraz, yet Cabernet remains the better performer in my eyes.

This Redbrook falls firmly in the ‘good examples’ camp though, looking all sexy and purple and bright. It smells solid too, a ripe and mulchy sort of Shiraz with that red-fruit-meets-savoury-tapenade thing that Margs Shiraz is known for, topped off with glossy ‘give it the good oak’ barrel characters and thick grainy tannins.

Aside from that slightly warm edge, this comfortably nails the leafy-yet-ripe silky-yet-dry Margs Shiraz style with aplomb. Texturally it’s spot on, wanting only a little more definition to launch up to the top shelf.

Drink: Now- 2019+
Score: 18/20, 93/100
Would I buy it?: If I liked Margaret River Shiraz more, yes. But I don’t…