M Burton Shiraz 2023 – a 50 dozen Canberra super red

Naming a wine after yourself really builds up the expectation. But this heavy bottled cloaked, micro-production (just 50 dozen – two barrels worth) Canberran super red delivers. I think the heavy bottle is a misnomer for what is a very clever wine – This M Burton Shiraz 2023 spends a giant 300 days on skins and matured in one-year-old oak. That’s not classic reserve wine territory; it’s something different. The result is medium weight, with these rafts of fine, powdery tannins that are very un-classic Shiraz. There’s a dark chocolate powder dusting, black olives, and mushrooms, and yet it’s dark-fruited, powerful, and glossy. Canberran, yet with this purpleness that could be Grampians, and the silky but silky tannic profile is so interesting. I dig it.

THE VERDICT

• Best drinking: drink it now in a big glass, or in a decade. No strict need to wait
• Score (out of 20): 18.7
• Score (out of 100): 95
• Alcohol %: 14
• RRP (in $AUD): 80
• Winery website: https://gundogestate.com.au/
• Would I buy it?: yes I would