Angove Family Winemakers 1886 Barossa Shiraz 2021

This Shiraz embraces wild fermentation in open fermenters, allowing indigenous yeasts from the vineyard to drive the process rather than commercial yeasts. This traditional approach, combined with hand plunging and pump-overs, creates more complexity and authentic site expression. The result is a wine that captures the true terroir of the Barossa, with distinctive aniseed and crushed herb notes that set it apart from more commercial styles.

While this Shiraz has the structure to age gracefully for up to 10 years, it's drinking beautifully right now and doesn't require cellaring. The 2021 vintage shows excellent balance between fruit intensity and oak integration, making it immediately approachable. If you do choose to cellar it, the wine will develop more tertiary flavours like leather and earth, though you'll sacrifice some of the vibrant fruit character that makes it so appealing today.

The rich, velvety texture and mocha notes make this perfect for grilled red meats, particularly lamb with rosemary or beef with peppercorn sauce. The savoury oak and fine tannin structure can handle robust flavours like aged cheeses, mushroom risotto, or even spicy barbecue. The bright acidity cuts through rich, fatty dishes while the dark fruit flavours complement caramelised and roasted elements in your cooking.

The consistent 90-point scores from Wine Orbit, Killer Vintage, and Dangerous Value reflect the wine's exceptional quality-to-price ratio and traditional winemaking approach. Angove's century-old winery brings generations of expertise to crafting this Shiraz, using techniques like wild fermentation and French oak maturation that are typically reserved for premium wines. The seamless integration of fruit, oak, and tannins demonstrates masterful winemaking that reviewers recognise as outstanding value.

Basket pressing is a gentle, traditional method where grapes are pressed in small batches using a wooden basket press, applying minimal pressure to extract only the finest juice. This technique preserves delicate flavours and prevents harsh tannins from being extracted, unlike modern pneumatic presses that can be more aggressive. The result is a cleaner, more refined wine with better colour stability and smoother tannin structure, contributing to this Shiraz's velvety texture and long, clean finish.