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.
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.
