2014 The Angelus James Halliday 2017 Australian Wine Companion - AUG 2016 Underrated by many, McLaren Vale produces some very fine cabernet sauvignons, and this is one of them. Beautifully fragrant with red berry/mulberry and a leafy note. The palate is medium to full-bodied, superfine tannins rolling on and on, ably backed by blackcurrent and cassis. Australian & NZ Wines of the Year 2017, Tyson Stelzer - JUN 2017 TOP 20 WINES OF THE YEAR UNDER $70 - Wirra s flagship cabernet aspires to frame the power of low-yielding vines in a style of fragrance and brightness. 2014 meets the brief with exacting varietal integrity and focused, confident, surging, superfine tannins. It achieves impact with restraint and promises tremendous endurance. Wine Business Magazine, Tyson Stelzer - JAN 2017 Exacting varietal integrity of understated blackcurrant, fragrant violets and cedar define accurate cabernet, focused, structured with confident, surging, superfine tannins. Outstanding line and length complete a restrained vintage of tremendous endurance. Australian Wine Review, Andrew Graham - APR 2017...Fruit-wise we re in black fruit territory, with chocolate bullets oak and a whisper of cassis. Underneath it s blackberried, full, even and just a little oak plumped, the finish fine but with punch and concentration. Linear Coonawarra Cab it s not, with more rounded flavours than that. It still finishes tight, though, and importantly it s fresh and vibrant. While this will never be the classical, cedar and tannins varietal Cab, it shows everything good about McLaren Vale Cabernet, all with a sense of polish. Best drinking: 2019-2030. The Wine Front, Gary Walsh - OCT 2016 92+ POINTS Sourced from a number of sub-regions/vineyards. The packaging, is very good. Smells wonderful: blueberries, blackcurrant, nutmeg, tobacco, roast beef, liquorice, and a whiff of an Artline permanent marker. Medium to full bodied, blackcurrant and blueberry again intense small berried fruit tannin with the feel of blueberry skin too. Acidity is a perhaps a little too brisk, sour, and unsettled, at least as a young wine, which makes it somewhat abrasive and angular at present. Finish is meaty, and again juicy with that small berried intensity of fruit. Needs some time to settle. 2016 Royal Melbourne Wine Awards - OCT 2016 GOLD MEDAL
2013 The Angelus James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2016 - JUL 2015 97 POINTS From the four coolest districts of McLaren Vale; matured for 18 months in French barriques (20% new), usual rack and returns. Vivid hue; this is a beautifully weighted and structured, medium-bodied cabernet, showing how much synergy can be generated between place and variety; pure cassis fruit has the finest line of tannin support imaginable, line and length perfect. Wine Front, Campbell Mattinson - OCT 2015 Twenty months in French oak. McLaren Vale cabernet sauvignon at its best. Filo tannin. Fine sheets of it, layer upon layer, wrapped around a pure filling of dusty/curranty fruit flavour. A wine of length, poise and fantastic promise. Jeremyoliver.com, Jeremy Oliver - JAN 2016 93 POINTS A finely assembled wine whose pristine, heady and sweetly oaked aromas of cassis, dark plums, mulberries and raspberries overlie tea-like nuances of dried herbs. It s long, smooth and polished, with a perfectly ripened core of fruit tightly knit with fresh oak and framed by a measured spine of firm, powdery tannins. It finishes with length, a lively acidity and the kind of balance that could see it live forever. erobertparker.com #220, Lisa Perrotti-Brown - AUG 2015 Medium to deep garnet/purple, the 2013 The Angelus (The Dead Ringer) has intense eucalyptus, creme de cassis and blueberry compote notes with hints of dark chocolate, cedar box, dried herbs and black earth. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is densely packed and fruity with firm, fine-grained tannins and a long finish.
2012 The Angelus James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2015 - JUL 2014 Deeply coloured; a typical richly robed wine, with layers of velvet, trimmed with savoury tannins, as befits the variety; good oak handling is the icing on the cake. In the right vintages, McLaren Vale makes cabernet that is at or near the top of New World quality. Royal Melbourne Wine Show - OCT 2014 GOLD MEDAL The Australian Wine Annual 2015, Jeremy Oliver - NOV 2014 Shaped around some superb fruit and oak, this very youthful and immature cabernet has a smoky, cedary and violet-like fragrance of intense juicy blackcurrant, raspberry fruit and fresh chocolate/vanilla oak. It s ultra-smooth, pristine and translucently bright, with real length and elegance, as its deep core of fruit knits tightly with fine, crunchy tannins and tight-grained oak, extending towards a lingering finish of refreshing acidity. Winefront, Gary Walsh - SEP 2014 Cherries, blackcurrant pastille, aniseed and mint, earth, sage and salted beef, spicy toasted oak lots going on here. Medium to full bodied, quite straight backed and firm, yet plush and silky too not overblown for sure black and blue fruits of ample sweetness with a distinct, almost seaweed and brine edge. Sure on the finish too. Dead Ringer is invariably a top wine: no change in 2012. erobertparker.com #220, Lisa Perrotti-Brown - AUG 2015 91 POINTS Medium to deep garnet/purple, the 2012 The Angelus Shiraz has pronounced menthol, blackberry, black plums and cherry aromas dotted with cloves and pencil shavings plus hints of violets. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is firm and chewy though just a little bit hollow. It finishes with good length. Wine Spectator August 31st Edition, Harvey Steiman - JUL 2015 91 POINTS This supple and open-textured red offers a pretty chocolate note weaving though its dark berry and floral flavors which come together smoothly on the expressive finish. Shows presence and persistence WBM, Tyson Stelzer - FEB 2015 Vineyards in the cooler parts of McLaren Vale provide poise, benchmark varietal definition and grand longevity, upholding the black depth of the region. Wirra has unleashed one of the best McLaren Vale Cabernets in a good while.
2011 The Angelus James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2014 - JUL 2013 Strong crimson-purple; it is surprising how many top benchmark wines were made in 11; this is a brooding, savoury, blackcurrant wine which is in some ways a throwback to top cabernet of 20 years ago; the tannins are savoury and persistent. The Wine Advocate, Lisa Perotti-Brown - FEB 2014 93+ POINTS Medium-deep garnet in color and incredibly expressive on the nose with attractive scents of potpourri, rose hip tea, anise and powdered cinnamon over a core of blueberry tart and violets, the medium-bodied 2011 The Angelus Cabernet is an elegant and fresh wine structured with medium levels of grainy tannins, balanced acid and a long finish. It should age well! Drink it now to 2025+. WBM, Mike Bennie - FEB 2014 Concentrated, packed full of fruit and tannin, shows some earthy, bouquet garni herbalness and forest floor complexity loads of interest. The shape of the wine shows lighter-on-feet-feel from 2011, and is likeable in that way. Spends 20 months in French oak. Australian Gourmet Traveller Wine - MAY 2014 Wirra Wirra s flagship cabernet is consistently excellent. This has a fresh, vibrant blackberry, chocolate and restrained mint bouquet. In the mouth it is full bodied and flavour packed with gently persistent fine tannins.
2010 The Angelus James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2013 - JUL 2012 Deep purple-crimson; a reaffirmation of the ability of McLaren Vale to produce cabernet sauvignon of great authority and power; black fruits are the order of the day, the tannins skilfully moulded, the oak integrated. Australian Gourmet Traveller Wine - JUL 2013 impressed us all. Shows restraint on the nose with redcurrant and acssis aromatics, said Forrestal. Rich and concentrated, silky smooth in the middle and with fone tannins. Hooke added, full bodied yet elegant with violets, blackberry and tobacco. The wine is very youthful with great depth and persistence. As expected of a high-quality McLaren Vale wine, it cries out for time and will gain complexity for many years. Wine Advocate #205, Lisa Perotti-Brown - FEB 2013 93+ POINTS deep garnet-purple colored and shows off intensely scented notes of creme de cassis, black cherry preserves and blueberry tart with hints of cedar, mint, dark chocolate and tree bark. Medium to full-bodied, it is well-balanced with a good core of expressive fruit, medium firm, grainy tannins, crisp acid and a long finish. Still a little young, it should drink best 2014 to 2024+. Wine Taste Weekly, Tyson Stelzer - JAN 2013 In smart livery of ceramic printing and pewter logo, The Angelus is looking as suave as ever, inside and out. The essence of McLaren Vale cabernet is captured here, with tremendous concentration, while maintaining its purity at every moment. Deep black fruits and liquorice pull into a gracefully honed finish of refreshing acidity and fine-tuned, finegrained yet firmly confident tannins. A wine of carefully crafted restraint and impressive longevity. InDaily.com, Philip White - AUG 2012 93+++ POINTS it envelopes its alcohol with sublimely intense, silky fruit on one hand, and cedary/ gingery French oak on the other... It has the prettiest Cabernet muskiness about its bouquet of red and black currant, and a long, drying fine tannin finish with a little alcoholic heat in its afterbreath. This threatens to overshadow the middle palate, but never really does. Instead, it s in there we see the typical nightshade leafiness of the Cabernet, supported by the most sinuous, intense syrup of cassis, prune and beetroot. HuonHooke.com, Huon Hooke - DEC 2012 Deep, dark red/purple colour, and a rich, black olive and cedar, slightly creosote-like aroma. A hint of tomato. Full-bodied and quite lush with density and flesh, if not great cabernet character. Big and slightly chewy, with ample soft tannins, and a core of sweet berry fruit. A weighty and slightly dry-reddish cabernet.