Eight at the Gate Cabernet Shiraz 2021
$30, 14% alcohol, screwcap, Wrattonbully.
Both varieties contribute well here. The curranty push from cabernet, the plum-driven cuddliness of shiraz, the leaf notes from the former, the plush mid palate of the latter. Oak plays a modest role here at most; fruit does all the main talking. There’s a gentle softness to the texture as well; everything is in good order. 90 points.
Campbell Mattinson has been an independent journalist, wine critic and photographer for forty years. He founded The Winefront, is a former chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion (and former editor of Halliday magazine), and is the only Australian to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once. He is 100% independent, and tastes between 5,000 and 10,000 wines each year, blind and in comparative brackets as often as is practicable.
Mattinson is also the founder of the Mattinson Photography business.
