Red Wine from Australia

Wine Front, 95 points: It just goes to show that “big” doesn’t have to mean either unbalanced or oak-driven. This is all or mostly about rich, black berried fruit and raking tannin, the end then lengthy and fresh. It’s not over-the-top but it’s...

96 points: Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2013 Amon Ra has youthfully toned-down notes of blackcurrants, blackberry preserves, plums and cracked pepper with nuances of licorice, dark chocolate, cedar and black earth.The palate...

James Halliday, 96 points: This is the product of a joint venture between Chapoutier and Giaconda. Good colour; a very complex wine, with an array of spice, sweet leather, earth and smoked meat aromas, the medium-bodied palate picking up on all of...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 points: Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2006 Cluster M45 has quite a meaty nose with game hints over black cherry pie and blackberry preserves notes plus nuances of of black loam and chargrill. Full-bodied and richly fruited with...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 points: 96+ Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2012 Ergo Sum Shiraz displays a lovely red berry, raspberry and Bing cherry nose with notes of roses, violets, lavender, wild thyme and pepper. Medium-bodied, tight-knit and...

James Halliday, 94 points: 119-year-old vines have produced a shiraz with very good colour; the bouquet offers leather, spice and dark chocolate, the rippling black and red fruit flavours with exactly the right amount of fine tannins, 20 months in...

Wine Spectator, 95 points: Dense, deep and brooding, delivering a complex mouthful of coffee-accented cherry, boysenberry, roasted meat and licorice flavors that meld together harmoniously and extend into the long, expansive finish. Tannins are...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 points: 96+ The back strapping 2005 Shiraz “House Block – Rare” is purple/black in color. It reveals aromas of cedar, wood smoke, cassis, blackberry, and blueberry compote. Full-bodied, thick, and rich, this opulent wine is...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 93 points: 2011 was of course a difficult, uncharacteristically rainy vintage in South Australia and particularly Barossa, but thanks to Penfolds’ privileged position with access to some of the region’s best fruit, they have...

Wine Spectator, 97 points: Ripe supple and seamless this is marked by delicious pepper and dark chocolate nuances to the focused cherry plum and fresh orange peel flavors making for a lush mouthful that lasts and lasts on the creamy-textured...

Wine Spectator, 92 points: Ripe and smooth, with a supple texture supporting dark berry, black currant and savory spice flavors that extend into a long, deep finish. Offers intensity and presence. Drink now through 2020. 125 cases imported. –HS

Wine Enthusiast, 98 points: Full-bodied and plush yet vibrant and imbued with fresh fruit, this is simply superb. The oak is present but never dominant, adding brown sugar and cinnamon elements to blueberry, roasted meat, espresso and black olive...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 98 points: 98+ Very deep purple-black colored, Torbreck's 2010 The Laird offers an extraordinary perfume of Chinese five spice, sandalwood, rose petals, espresso and licorice over a core of prunes, dried mulberries and blackcurrant...

Antonio Galloni's Vinous, 92 points: Brilliant ruby. Potent blackcurrant, licorice and pipe tobacco scents are complicated by suggestions of cedary oak and minerals. Weighty and sweet in the mouth, offering broad black and blue fruit flavors that become...