Head Wines The Blonde Shiraz 2023 6pack 14.5% 750ml

Head Wines The Blonde Shiraz 2023 6pack 14.5% 750ml

Tasting Notes

Region notes
Head Wines now works with a diverse range of up to 20 different Shiraz vineyards in the Barossa and Eden Valleys. To be considered part of ‘The Blonde’ a vineyard must perform amongst the few top vineyards each year and have well-defined perfumes, textures and supple tannins. For 2023, ‘The Blonde’ came from a vineyard planted at Ebenezer in the Barossa Valley GI. The Shiraz (at 320m elevation) was planted circa 1893 on an east-west downwards slope protected by the afternoon sun. The soils are deep white/yellow sand over limestone and orange/red clay.

Winemakers comments
It is worth noting that I am trying to pursue finesse and elegance with this wine, always thinking about how to make the wine better, not bigger. The only additions made to this wine is some new oak and I hope you feel the same uninterrupted flow, harmony and pleasantness that I feel it should convey.

Vinification
1t open top stainless steel, indigenous yeast, two-week ferment, hand-plunging & pump-over twice daily.

Maturation
15 months on fine lees, 1 x new, 1 x old French oak 225L.

Grape variety
100% Shiraz

Acidity
5.7 g/L

Variety: Shiraz/Syrah
Region: Barossa & Eden Valleys, South Australia
Winemaker: Alex Head

Reviews:

David Sly, Decanter - 97 Pts

Winemaker Alex Head says this single-block expression is his homage to finesse – which clearly shows on the palate, although there’s still a formidable, sharp black-fruited nose piqued by soot and struck flint that commands immediate attention. Sourced from a vineyard planted at Ebenezer in 1893 on deep sand over limestone and orange/red clay, this elegant wine spends 15 months on both old and new French oak. It opens to luscious red fruit that slides easily and gently over a luxurious, long palate before closing discretely with the tapering of fine-grained tannins. Exciting now, it will reveal even more excitement after more than five years in the cellar.

Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion - 95 Pts

A vibrantly coloured and downright delicious '23 shiraz from Alex Head. Rich, nicely poised satsuma plum, mulberry and boysenberry fruits are cut with hints of spice, pastis, panforte, olive tapenade, wood spice and dark chocolate. It sports an intriguing crushed rockiness that I love. The balance is bang on here, with a kinetic interplay of ripe fruit, limestone-borne mineral cadence and toothsome tannin presence. The wine feels pure and travels freely over the palate with impressive energy. She's good drinking this one, and should cellar nicely to boot.

Ken Gargett, Wine Pilot - 95 Pts

An opaque maroon colour, this is big, bold and plush, dense but dancing. There are notes of mocha, chocolate, mulberries and plums. The oak has been deftly handled. There is good intensity, richness and ripeness, which runs the full, very extensive, length. Satiny tannins, good energy and fine acidity all present and correct. Enjoy this for the next fifteen years.

Steve Leszczynski, Qwine - 95 Pts

This is a great drink from Head Wines. It's not the broad and bulky Barossa Shiraz that some may assume. There is a prettiness and fleet-footedness as it dances through the palate. 'The Blonde' is derived from the limestone soils on which these vines are grown. Dive into a pool of baked red plum skins, dark cherries, red currants and mulberries. A minerally impact makes itself known and tucks behind a host of savoury highlights. Mocha, char, dried herbs, beef stock and dark chocolate all peel off with ease yet work in unison demonstrating an even flow. The persistent and superfine finish caps things off perfectly. I just want to drink it. Simple! And if that's the sign of a great wine, rush at this. Drink to eight years+.