Inkwell Shiraz 2011

It’s a dark coloured beast too – dark, ink-blot purple (couldn’t help myself) in colour and brooding in every way. Admirable concentration in the larger context of the 2011 South Australian vintage, though helped along by the fact that the Inkwell fruit ripens early and the vineyard is fastidiously managed.

Regardless, this is almost overbearing in the intensity of plum and licorice fruit, with blackness on nose and palate, finishing warm tight and, well, black. This is not a simple wine though, with a hint of mint to remind that this still came from a cool summer, all topped off with fine tannins and a hard-to-pin down level of detail that suggests real quality fruit.

Admirable concentration and more than just fruit, this is next-level Vale Shiraz if just a little uncompromising in its seriousness.

Drink: 2014-2021+
Score: 17.8/20, 92/100
Would I buy it? Only for the cellar. A little challenging to drink now.