Brokenwood Hunter Valley Shiraz 2019 ~ NSW, Australia

94/100 - Bob Campbell - The Real Review
93/100 - James Suckling
92/100 - James Halliday
90/100 - Huon Hooke - The Real Review
91/100 - 2021 Halliday Wine Companion (2018 Vintage)
95/100 - Mike Bennie (2017 vintage)
95/100 - James Suckling (2017 vintage)
95/100 - James Halliday (2017 vintage)
92/100 James Halliday (2015 vintage)
95/100 James Halliday (2014 vintage)
92/100 The Wine Front (2014 vintage)
94/100 James Halliday (2013 vintage)
95/100 James Halliday (2011 vintage)

James Halliday 5 Star Winery

Bob Campbell - The Real Review "Ripe shiraz with raspberry, plum, eucalyptus, violet, floral and spice flavours. A supple, sinewy wine with hints of baked earth. Approachable now but should age well. A classy wine with a fine, peppery texture."

James Suckling - "This has such impressively ripe yet poised style and offers bold blackberries, raspberries and plums with chocolate, leaves and bark, too. The palate has impressively supple and fleshy style and delivers ripe dark-berry flavors with freshness. Drinking well already. Drink or hold."

Ned Goodwin MW - James Halliday "When I think of Brokenwood, I think of this wine. The medium-bodied stalwart that showcases the savoury steadying hand that the Hunter imparts to its better wines. Red cherry, damson plum, baking spice, a seasoning of vanillan oak. There's a loamy, earthen feel to the swathe of tannin, gentle enough to encroach upon, yet firm enough to ensure ageability."

Huon Hooke - The Real Review "Bright, deep purple/red hue, with a nose of ground black peppercorns and subtle red fruits, the palate intense and shrill, youthfully aggressive with a little astringency from acidity and tannins, gritty and somewhat unready. It's a bit immature, but has very good potential"

James Halliday - "An archetypal Hunter Valley shiraz: medium-bodied with predominantly earthy/black fruits peppered by fine tannins that underwrite the cellaring certainty of a pure-bred wine." (2018 Vintage)

Mike Bennie - "Fragrant wine of pure-feeling fruit expression, just shy of medium weight, shaped with fine ribbons of tannin. Anise, kirsch and graphite mineral notes come to the fore. It’s a wine that feels sleek and spicy, silky and elegant, svelte and succulent, a touch of class, but with high drinkability in tow" (2017 vintage)

The Winefront ~ "It’s grown on the Graveyard vineyard; it’s essentially a “declassified Graveyard Shiraz”. It sees all-French oak, of course." (2017 vintage)

James Suckling - "This is a deep and pretty red with crushed blackberries, spices and dried flowers. Rose-petal undertones. Full-bodied yet tight and very integrated. Some smoke and tea undertones. Ripe fruit. Sliced meat, too." (2017 vintage)

James Halliday - "This may be the junior brother to Graveyard, but it's a brilliant one, with 25% new French oak, the grapes coming from the replanted vines on the Graveyard Vineyard. You have to work out whether you want six bottles of this or one bottle of Graveyard" (2017 vintage)

The Winemaker ~ "Lovely mid depth colour with purple tints. Lifted red spice, ginger and earthy notes on the aroma. Ripe fruit and low oak impact on the palate, with the new oak providing a slight vanillin sweetness. The ripe fruit tannins are perfect and with the acid give a very long finish to the wine. Typical medium bodied Hunter Valley Shiraz from a great year that will reward for many years" (2017 Vintage)

Established in 1970 Brokenwood Wines is one of Australia's most reputable premium wine labels and a must-visit in the Hunter Valley. It was established by Australia's leading wine critic, James Halliday. Consistently listed as a 5 star winery, Brokenwood is home to the famous Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz, the highly acclaimed ILR Reserve Semillon, and the popular Cricket Pitch Range.

At nearly 40 years young, Brokenwood Wines, in the heart of the Hunter Valley, can lay claim to not only an iconic vineyard with the Graveyard Vineyard but to the preservation of a wine fraternity that proudly has as its mission statement, 'to make great wine and have fun'.

The original land that was to become the Cricket Pitch Vineyard was purchased in 1970 and planted immediately to Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Graveyard Vineyard, planted to Shiraz in 1968, was bought in 1978 and by the mid 1980s was producing a premium Single Vineyard wine. The first Langton's Classification of Premium Australian Wine was launched in 1993 and the Graveyard Shiraz was then, and remains, the highest-placed Hunter Valley Shiraz.

The Hunter Valley is the best-known and most highly prized wine region in New South Wales. It is known as the region where the Australian wine industry started. The valley's winemakers have pioneered two distinctive styles of wine (oaked Chardonnay and dry Semillon) and has retained a strong connection with both of them. The Hunter Valley's most famous wine style is its distinctive dry Semillon, made there since the 1870s. Hunter Valley Semillons are renowned for their ability to improve with age.

Today, Brokenwood boasts an impressive array of premium quality wines, sourced from 'all the right regions, for all the right reasons', from the Graveyard Shiraz to the Cricket Pitch Sauvignon Blanc Semillon and Cricket Pitch Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot.

“Our philosophy is to produce wine that focuses on the unique regional characteristics of the Hunter Valley and premium wine regions throughout Australia.” Iain Riggs, Chief Winemaker & Managing Director, Brokenwood Wines.

Shiraz is the name given to the dark-skinned Syrah grape when grown in Australia and selected pockets of the New World. Though genetically identical, the stylistic differences between Shiraz and Syrah are usually pronounced.

Shiraz is so important to Australian viticulture that it is the most planted grape variety in the majority of Australian vineyards and has become virtually synonymous with the country's wine regions, and in particular the Barossa Valley.