Head Wines Head Red Shiraz 2015

Alex Head’s entry level Head Red range of Barossa reds always overperform, and no departure here. I always like one or the other of the two wines in the ‘Head Red’ range, and this year it was the straight Shiraz that won.

Culled from barrels of the single vineyard Head Wines, this Shiraz spends 12 months in wood and is bottled earlier than the single vineyard wines.

Immediately this is sexy, plush, purple wine. Swish modern Barossa Shiraz, with polish well above its pricepoint. Lavish plum and boysenberry fruit, coffee powder oak in the background, all in mid-weight and round form. It falls away just a fraction on the finish, but the overall generosity and endless drinkability of this style makes it really quite more-ish.

Nice wine and at a nice price. Best drinking: 2016-2025. 17.7/20, 92/100. 14%, $25. Would I buy it? I’d go a bottle for sure.