Allegiance Wines The Artisan Cabernet Shiraz 2016

Written By Campbell Mattinson
Mattinson review of Allegiance Wines The Artisan Cabernet Shiraz 2016

Allegiance Wines The Artisan Cabernet Shiraz 2016
$40, 14.0% alcohol, screwcap, McLaren Vale.

I tasted this wine in early 2025, or when the wine was nine years old. It still comes across as fresh and fruitful, with cherry-plum flavours, roasted spice, toasty oak and bitumen characters powering through the palate. Some mellowing has occurred, with dried herb, earth and fresh leather characters evident, along with a gentle, coffee-cream softness. My only real hesitation on this wine is the acidity, which trails slightly off to the side of the main carry of flavour. This wine is though drinking well now and it will continue to do so for some years. 91 points.

Campbell Mattinson

This article was written by Campbell Mattinson, former chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion book, former editor of Halliday magazine, former editor of Australian Sommelier Magazine and founder of the highly respected The Winefront site.

Mattinson has been an independent wine critic and photo-journalist since 1987. He’s the only Australian to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once. He’s a past winner of a Louis Roederer International Wine Media Award; is the author of the award-winning book The Wine Hunter; and is the author of the best-selling novel We Were Not Men. He’s also a winner of a St Kilda Film Festival Award (as writer-director) and is a former winner of the prized Best Australian Sports Writing Award.

Mattinson, who is 100% independent, puts a score out of 100 on every wine that he reviews. But what he’d rather do, is tell you the wine’s story.

https://www.campbellmattinson.com
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