Eileen Hardy Shiraz is a very opulent perfumed wine with ripe gamey blackberry/liquorice aromas, spicy nuances and fine silky dense tannins. The original Eileen Hardy Bin 80 Shiraz was first released in 1973 to mark family matriarch Eileen Hardy's 80th birthday. After an initial switch in the mid to late 1970s to Cabernet Sauvignon blends, the wine has evolved from a multi-regional blend to an entirely McLaren Vale derived Shiraz based on half century to century-old vineyards. At completion of fermentation, the wine is drained through traditional basket presses into a combination of roughly 25-33% new and seasoned French oak for around 14 to 18 months. This "living breathing creation" reflects a strong house winemaking ethos and exceptional vineyard resources. Since 2007 the wine has been bottled under screw-cap.
Deep crimson. Intense blackberry, elderberry, graphite, praline aromas with herb garden notes. Richly flavoured, buoyant and minerally with dark chocolate, dark berry fruits, persistent fine gravelly textures, lovely mid-palate volume and plentiful mocha, roasted chestnut oak complexity. Finishes chocolaty firm with plentiful sweet fruit/ graphite notes. Superb density, texture and balance. Should develop well over the long haul. 14.5% alc Drink now–2038
97 points (2021)
Hand picked. Fermented in open tops, largely ambient. Aged in French barriques (25% new) for 17 months. An iconic Australian wine and possibly the best young example tasted. The tannin management, increasingly more refined. Explosive aromas of raspberry bon-bon, bitter chocolate, violet, clove and licorice. Thankfully, though, more than the fruit (guaranteed in these parts), it is the tannic burr that is most provocative.
96 points, Wine Companion (February 2021)
Very deep, dark, youthful red/purple colour, with a reserved but fresh plummy, meaty aroma, with a hint of licorice and background mixed spices. Blackberry and graphite traces too. It's ample and soft in the mouth, with fluffy tannins adding a subtle, gentle grip, and there's a real sense of completeness. Excellent.
95 points, The Real Review (July 2021)
