Positive bright crimson; right in the mainstream of modern - or retro-modern - medium-bodied Hunter Valley shiraz with gentle earth and leather regional markers folded into dark berry and plum fruit plus a garnish of fine savoury tannins.

Opens a little stinky and charred but there's a good amount of fleshy cherry and plum fruit along with Hunter earth and some vanilla oak. Appropriately firm but fine tannin acidity not quite settled in as yet but no doubt will. Framed and presented in the best and most attractive medium bodied Hunter style. Good release.

Made in a leaner style with a cool climate feel the 2009 Brokenwood Shiraz Hunter Valley opens up with air and boasts complex aromas of spicy black fruits sappy underbrush violets and hints of pepper to go with a medium-bodied juicy very fresh palate. This improves noticeably with air and I like the structure and focus here. While outstanding now with a decant this should be even better in a year or three and have upwards of a decade of prime drinking.

Deep garnet-purple colored the 2009 Shiraz presents an abundance of wonderfully forward aromas: ripe blackberry fresh blueberries cassia nutmeg cloves anise and a whiff of menthol. Medium-bodied and crisp in the mouth it has taut muscular fruit with medium-firm grainy tannins and a long finish. Approachable now I'd really like to give the palate at least another year in bottle and drink it 2012 to 2017+. 91+ -Lisa Perrotti-Brown