Our Savitar Shiraz is as charming, as much as it is bold. Similar to the dragon-like creature after which it’s named, it is a wine with great power, yet a softness, a polish, an elegant distinction. It’s not shy, and opens with bold, up front fruit, yet is delicately balanced with natural acidity and mouth coating tannins.
Tasting notes:
Immense lift, the aromatics are an incredibly intense amalgam of blackcurrant, menthol, licorice and cedar oak. The palate shows a hugely complex flavor profile befitting of its pedigree. Characters of black fruits, dried herbs, and earthy tones of licorice and savory leather.
Reviews:
95 points, Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate, October 2022
The 2019 Savitar Shiraz was my pick of the bunch. This is serious, precise and driven and, again, sourced from Whites Valley, as is the 2019 GAM Shiraz. The maturation rolls out in 100% French oak. The extract here is savory and firm; the fruit is driven by tannins, and they really screw down the fruit and compress it in the glass. It’s tight. One can see that the longevity of this wine may outweigh that of the others, making it quite a layered and exciting wine to drink—certainly now, but in the future too.
94 points, Angus Hughson, Vinous, February 2023
Classically dense and modern, the 2019 Savitar is a massive crowd-pleaser that will knock your socks off. There is immense colour - it's almost black as the ace of spades. The nose is hit with wave after wave of dark fruits, liquorice, blackberry, chocolate and spice. It's big but balanced; luscious flavours and sweet oak provide a long, supple finish. An excellent vintage of Savitar.
94 points, Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal, December 2022
Medium deep crimson. Black cherry, blackcurrant, dark chocolate mocha aromas with hint oyster shell notes. Inky deep with ample dark cherry, blackberry, fine supple tannins and underlying mocha oak complexity. Finishes chalky/muscular firm and minerally.
94 points, Ned Goodwin, Wine Companion, July 2023
Denser, more oaky and built for a longer life, perhaps, than its G.A.M. shiraz sibling. A regional stalwart, in the classicist mould. Coffee beans, vanilla, cedar and dark fruit allusions. Raspberry bonbon sweetness expands with air, sousing the finish. A bit hard to get past the oak at this stage, but time will surely imbue the benefit of the doubt.
94 points, Angus Hughson, Winepilot, August 2022
This classically dense and modern example of McLaren Vale Shiraz is a massive crowd pleaser that will knock your socks off. You will find immense colour – it’s almost black as the ace of spades. Then wave after wave of dark fruits from liquorice, blackberry, chocolate through to cocoa and spice. It’s big, but balanced too with luscious flavours and sweet oak providing a long, supple finish. An excellent vintage of Savitar.
90 points, Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Real Review, January 2023
Purple-black and very dense in appearance. Some powerful aromas of blackberry jam, plum, dusty spices, old leather and polished wood. In the mouth it's medium bodied with plenty of intense dark fruit, black olive savouriness, and a good measure of toasty oak in the mix. Tannins are appropriately firm and drying but not dominating. A little one-dimensional on the palate at the moment, it needs time to evolve.
Bronze Medal
2022 McLaren Vale Wine Show