Bremerton does intensity well. They’re the sort of wines where you’re never kept guessing. Ever.

But sometimes less really would be more – just like this Bremerton Old Adam Shiraz 2013. Sourced from the best blocks on the estate, this is a barrel selection that spent 22 months in oak…

It really is a beast of a wine. Black fruit and bitumen on the nose, with lavish oak. Spirituous palate is sumptuous and oaky, long and chunky but also stamped at every corner by oak and then alcohol warmth. Large! That said it is still generous and soft, and not hard at all. A hugely rich and powerful caricature of a wine, but not offensive. It’s going to get huge scores from some critics, live forever, and the length is high quality – hence the fair score. But I could barely finish a glass of this. Best drinking: 2020-2030+. 17/20, 90/100. 15%, $56. Would I buy it? Not personally.

Buy online: Bremerton, Winelist Australia, Wine Searcher