Old vines and tiny yields from the Clare valley
'This flagship shiraz is both measured and richly fruited. It has a strong serve of bold oak across ripe, rich and dense old-vine fruit. Smells of mulberries, red plums and sweet baking spices. The long and silky palate is plump and supported by ample, silky tannins. Drink in the next two decades. 95 points' - James Suckling
The Barrys have packed an enormous amount of history and anecdotage into two and a half generations. Jim Barry was in the first cohort of graduates from Roseworthy college and every family member involved in the business is a Roseworthy graduate - unique in Australia according to Peter. Peter Barry and his sons now own the business and they continue to refine and innovate as Jim Barry did.
2018 is the fiftieth anniversary of the planting of the Armagh vineyard and in the early days all the juice went into the fortified wines that dominated Australia then. The first vintage of the now iconic Armagh was made in 1985. Cropped at just 27 hectolitres per hectare there are fewer than 1000 cases of The Armagh produced and our allocation is just 10 six packs (this cult wine stays mainly in Australia). In a vertical tasting of four recent vintages the 2014 really stood out for me. Clearly it has the longevity you'd expect, but if you do want to try it now it is open and approachable and in no way the monolith some of its peers can be.
The Clare Valley is situated not far from the Barossa but is a completely different region. It has warm days and dry summers and, perhaps most importantly, the vineyards are planted at over 400 metres altitude. This allows them to bask in warm, sunny days but cool down considerably at night. 2014 was a super Clare Valley Shiraz vintage with a hot February but a long, cool run-up to harvest giving complexity and freshness to the wines. /CW
Offered subject to remaining unsold; for shipment spring 2019
