Wine Advisor
Glaetzer, Amon Ra Shiraz 2022
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Erin Larkin
The 2022 Amon-Ra Shiraz speaks so clearly of the Glaetzer house style: that is to say, sleek, polished, powerful, seamless and fruit-driven. These are wines that speak of the Barossa in their earthy splay of pliable tannin, but they have a vibrance to the fruit that is most attractive. So, while these wines harness the place—this wine could hardly be from anywhere else—they do it in a restrained kind of way. Not that you could call this 2022 Amon-Ra Shiraz "restrained" and get away with it. More to comment on the fact that Barossa is yoked and controlled in this wine. I like it a lot. There are notes of dark chocolate, black cherries, raspberry pastille and even pomegranate molasses, alongside sweet paprika, ironstone and red earth, roasted meat and a throw of tapenade. This is really good. 15% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
About the Producer
The Glaezter family emigrated from Germany in 1888 and became some of the first recorded winegrowers to settle in the Barossa Valley, Colin Glaetzer established the Glaezter Wine Company about a century later, focusing on producing fine wines, and his son Ben runs the winery today. The philosophy is to use the best quality grapes to produce wines that best reflect the character of the Barossa Valley appellation. Barossa is famous for its ancient vines, from which the fruit is harvested without irrigation, and whose roots reach dozens (sometimes hundreds!) of metres deep to find underground water far below the surface. The yields from these vines are naturally very low and the fruit produced is very concentrated. Château Glazeau received a super five star rating from the James Halliday-hosted Australia Wine Companion in 2012. Glazeau's focus on making only four wines from old vine grapes in the Barossa Valley has resulted in excellent quality wines each year and very small yields.
