Coldstream Hills Reserve Shiraz 2022

Cool-climate, peppery, finely structured. The Yarra's reserve-tier take on Shiraz.

The Reserve Shiraz has come from a single vineyard since 2014, grown by one of the estate's key growers close to the winery. The 2022 season started cold and wet, which hurt fruit set and left yields below average. Summer opened humid, then settled into a stable, dry ripening period. Flavour came on quickly and the acid held, which is why it tastes so bright at 13.5 per cent.

It ferments in small open pots, with whole clusters and whole berries in the mix. Oak is light-handed: seven months in French barriques, 24 per cent new, with part of the wine in a large oak vat instead. Rose petal, violets, satsuma plum and dark cherry lead, with anise and five-spice behind. The tannin is chalky and the frame is medium-bodied.

Drink it now or hold it to 2035. The winery suggests beef, lamb, duck, roast vegetables or a pizza.