Deep purple-crimson; smart new packaging, but for the wine in the bottle it is business as usual with a complex black fruit and dark chocolate bouquet, and a sumptuous, velvety mid-palate before grading to a more savoury finish, oak and tannins in perfect tune with the fruit.

Matured for 16 months in French oak, 40% new, the 2009 RSW Shiraz has a deep garnet-purple color and expressive aromas of ripe blackberries and cassis over hints of cedar, smoky bacon, cinnamon stick and moss covered bark. The palate is tightly-knit and a little restrained at this stage with promising tension between the densely packed fruit and structure of firm grainy tannins and crisp acidity. It has a good, long finish of vibrant berry flavors. Give it another year or two in bottle and consider drinking it 2013 to 2023+. 92+ - LPB