Jim Barry, The Armagh Shiraz, Clare Valley 2012

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2012 Shiraz The Armagh offers a gorgeous perfume of baking spices, violets, Sichuan pepper and fragrant earth. More earthy and savory in the mouth than on the nose, the palate is superbly structured and taut—built for the long-haul—with a long, complex finish. Still very youthfully, forget this wine for 3-5 more years and consider drinking it over the next 20+.

Opaque, bright-rimmed ruby. A complex array of ripe dark fruits and pungent flowers take on suggestions of vanilla, clove, star anise and roasted coffee. Broad and alluringly sweet on the palate, offering deeply concentrated cassis, cherry liqueur, spicecake and mocha flavors that show impressive energy for their heft. Delivers outstanding clarity and spicy drive on an extremely long, sweet finish that features velvety tannins and lingering smokiness.