De Bortoli Woodfired Shiraz 2023

De Bortoli Woodfired Shiraz is a generous Heathcote red built for smoky, savoury food and relaxed company. Dark fruit, blueberry, liquorice and wild spice lead into a soft, rich palate with balanced tannins and a distinctly meaty edge. The fruit comes from several northern Heathcote sites, where ancient red Cambrian soils suit plump, deeply coloured Shiraz. Despite the bold name, the texture is rounded and the structure keeps everything tidy. Pour it with chargrilled steak, slow-cooked beef or a blistered wood-fired pizza when a bold Australian red is exactly the point.

What the winery says:

Fruit was selected from vineyards around Corop, Chinamans Bend and Colbinabbin in northern Heathcote. The grapes were destemmed and fermented at 25-30°C for six to eight days, then pressed and matured in vats and casks for six months. Regular racking and aeration helped soften the wine. De Bortoli describes an intense deep red colour, aromas of plump dark fruit, blueberry, spice and liquorice, and a soft, mouthcoating palate with balanced tannin, cured-meat savouriness and wild spice. The 2023 technical sheet lists 13% alcohol, while the New Zealand importer identifies the wine as vegan.

What the experts say:

Halliday Wine Companion, 92 Points (2023)
“The power of suggestion is strong with this one: the firm, mouth-watering tannins, a quiet power associated with those ripe, dark fruits, the elevated spice, the bitter chocolate, the bay leaf and earthy minerality that brings an effortless balance.”