2016 Dandelion Lion's Tooth of McLaren Vale Shiraz-Riesling

Best in Show & 97 points - Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2018
This 2016 McLaren Vale Shiraz, intriguingly but successfully cut with just a little Riesling, is an opaque dark black-red in the glass. The aromas are unusually complex though no less enticing for all that: soft, sweet, quietly expressed blackcurrant and bramble fruits without any garish or distracting oak sweetness; a little tar; a floral freshness (from the Riesling?) and a liquorice-root darkness. You can't help but sip after an aromatic profile like that, and you'll find a deep, dark, smooth though well-filled palate in which those same dark black fruits shimmer and gleam like water in moonlight. The tar and liquorice darken the wine further; ripe acidity and that quiet floral lift keep it fresh. Impressive craftsmanship as well as original thinking here: it works. DRINK 2018-2030