Meerea Park Hell Hole Shiraz 2023

Single-vineyard Shiraz from the Kindred family's 1960s-planted Homestead vineyard on Palmers Lane, Pokolbin — a name that itself comes from the Hungarian for 'in Hell'. The low-cropped, event-free 2023 harvest gave exceptional fruit: deep crimson, dark berry aromatics, and a medium-bodied-plus palate of spicy plum and black cherry with gentle meaty, earthy tones and al-dente tannins on a long, streamlined finish. A classic Hunter style with cellaring potential of twenty years and more.

Rhys and Garth Eather make this at Meerea Park, and Hell Hole is their play on that Pokolbin translation. The Kindred family owns the Homestead block, and the Eathers take the fruit off vines that have now passed sixty years in the ground. Meerea Park calls it a sturdy Hunter Shiraz with balance and length rather than sheer size.

Winepilot rated the 2023 at 94 points and called it a classic Hunter Burgundy style built for the cellar. That old local term means a medium-weight, savoury Shiraz, not a big one. The review finds cherry fruit and a meaty, sausage-mince note over al dente tannins, with a drinking window out to 2042.

The winery's own match is beef or an aged hard cheese. Open it an hour ahead if you drink it young, and expect the earthy side to grow with each year in the rack.