Jim Barry Spring Farm Block 73 Shiraz 2021

Written By Campbell Mattinson
Bottle of Jim Barry Spring Farm Block 73 Shiraz 2021

Jim Barry Spring Farm Block 73 Shiraz 2021
$200, 13.9% alcohol, screwcap, Clare Valley

The unusual thing about this wine is its tannin. It’s not just tannic, it’s an unusual kind of tannin, almost earthen, certainly dry, a bit smoky, almost sooty. This tannin stands out, though it is inlaid with boysenberry and blueberry fruit flavours, and peppermint, and cocoa, and a twiggy aspect, and a nut-shell note. Indeed it’s distinctive all around. It’s also worth pointing out that this wine is not a blockbuster; it’s a powerful wine, but it’s a quiet kind of power. I personally wouldn’t be dropping $200 on this wine but single block wines, by definition, should be distinctive, and it definitely nails that brief, and then some, in a context of sheer quality. 95 points.

Campbell Mattinson

This article was written by Campbell Mattinson, founder of The Winefront and mattinson, and former chief editor of Halliday.

When you pick up a wine book and see thousands of top-scoring wines, it’s hard to know which wine to choose. Mattinson guides you through this maze, giving you an honest view of the best Australian wines, the best wine stories, the best wine producers, the best value wines and simply, the best tasting wines. Importantly, Mattinson will tell you about the top-rated wines and also about the underrated wines. In short, Mattinson knows Australian wines inside and out.

Mattinson has been a photo-journalist since 1987. For the past 25 years he’s been a voice that you can trust when you’re looking for the best wines. 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, and is the author of the award-winning book The Wine Hunter. He’s not afraid to put a score beside a wine. But what he’d rather do, is tell you the wine’s story.

https://www.campbellmattinson.com
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