Jim Barry, The Armagh Shiraz, Clare Valley 2022

I once tasted through a vertical of The Armagh Shiraz with Tom and Sam Barry, and it was as illuminating as it was enjoyable. I still think about that day when I taste current-release Armaghs, as I learned something vital about my own approach to the wine during that tasting. In a nutshell, the winemaking has never been better or more precise than it is under Tom Barry's direction. The wines across the board have better clarity and precision than ever before, and the construction takes a back seat to the vineyard in almost all cases, which is the highest form of compliment I can think to give to any winemaker. In the case of The Armagh Shiraz, the early wines were matured in American oak and sealed under cork. Closure willing, great bottles of these old wines are great experiences, and I feel no shortage of nostalgia when I drink them. The wines of the current day are sealed under screw cap and matured in French oak, and the wine has never been better, fresher, nor more sophisticated. As the nostalgic shackles of the past are removed bit by bit each vintage, the incremental improvements to viticulture and winemaking are exposed, and so through the "loss" of one aspect, the gain of another is had.

And so, to the wine. Here, the 2022 The Armagh Shiraz is a product of the cooler, wetter vintage in 2022 than was experienced in the great 2021 before it. The wine is detailed and fresh, with rose petals and earth, hung deli meat and ironstone, star anise, clove and dark chocolate. The wine retains the DNA of those early wines in its expression of brown/purple fruit, warm baking spices and roasted meat, yet the lift and vibrancy of the new-guard thinking is subtly overlaid. This is a tremendous release, perhaps slightly lighter than the deep 2021 and with greater edge and complexity. It is excellent. The lessons learned in the cool and wet 2017 vintage were aptly applied in 2022 via shoot thinning and green harvesting. The fermentation and oak vessels were similarly adapted this year to suit the season. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

Deep plum colour, aromatic spices of cardamom and cloves, alongside raspberry, savoury cherry bud, sandalwood, liquorice, cocoa, black tea, olive tapenade. Once again a slam dunk, so much depth and length. Sam Barry winemaker.

The 2022 Shiraz The Armagh is a more streamlined vintage with a robust core of blackberry and licorice aromas lifted by a nice touch of eucalyptus with a backbone of stylish oak. This is generously weighted with long, sinewy tannins and its flavors are still bound up. The 2022 will take a little longer to come out of its shell but will be worth the wait.