JM 1ST APPROACH

Immediate wow factor here on first sniff. Perfume of lavender and talc, citrus and mineral. So pure and clean with bright crunchy acidity and a slatey dry deliciousness, yet it’s not overly austere, keeping a gentle fruit sweetness and mouth perfume that neatly offsets all those rocks and stones. Long and very fine. Brilliant wine. Rated : 95+ Points Gary Walsh.  The Winefront.

Medium crimson-purple; the plush red berry fruit and oak aromas lead into a multi-layered textural palate, with plum and more savoury fruit set within the subtle French and American oak in which the wine was matured. This is indeed a serious merlot at a laughable price. 92 points James Halliday Top 100 Wines

.. Wonderfully generous palate is ripe and slippery but not sweet. Not hard to like a juicy, ripe, no-nonsense Vale Shiraz like this. 17.5/91 points Australian Wine Review

... meat, spice and dark fruits on the nose ... and soft silky tannins with a long finish. Polished and fascinating.  93 points James Suckling

...enticing rather than overbearing and it lingers beautifully on the finish. A fine wine for the price .... Winingpom

... Has an earthy goodness about it too. Benefits from a quick slosh in the decanter. Excellent red wine. Rated : 92 Points Winefront

I don’t know what they’re doing at Kirrihill – but they’re not making a $20 wine. - OK, so it needs some time. The acid needs to settle, the tannin needs to relax, it all just needs to knit together some more. But the purity of fruit – blackcurrant, dust, brambly blackberries – and the firm seriousness of the finish mark it clearly as something other than a mere quaffer. A touch of chocolatey oak completes the picture. Good bones here. Rated : 92+ Points Winefront.com.au

Price-wise this bats against the standard-issue Koonunga Shiraz; it would be easy to argue that it gives it a fair touch up. Distinctive peanut shell-like aftertaste. Bang on for drinkability. Campbell Mattinson; The Wine Front
Wine of the Week - The economic reality is that many other countries can produce good wines more cheaply than we can in Australia. This is a case in point: a terrific savoury quaffing Spanish red blend that won't break the bank.‘Wine of the Week’ Winsor Dobbin.a good mix between savoury and sweet too, with a .. good deal of Tempranillo to pan out the structure. It’s as generous as a paella pan overflowing with flavour, has a silky red fruit palate and some dried herb character. Ends with keen acids that keep it perky but it’s the smooth tannins that impress making for a seamless drink at the price. Patrick Haddock; Wining Pom

Savoury spice, earth aromas turning to liquorice and plum jam; richly fruit-sweet, fleshy, concentrated. Marvellous for this price and worth cellaring. 14.5 per cent alcohol. 93/100. Huon Hooke
... savoury Moroccan spices and fresh earth, plus traces of licorice and plum jam. Soft and fruit-sweet in the mouth, it has an abundant fleshy texture, good concentration of sweet fruit, and a firm tannin grip to finish. A serious red for hearty food, and for cellaring. Gourmet Traveller Wine