2023 Striato Shiraz, Alkina

A more detailed, savoury expression of Shiraz, this wine takes things up a gear and brings together lifted aromatics and real mineral definition. Red and blue fruits sit alongside graphite, exotic Asian spice and subtle balsamic, black olive complexity, giving a very appetising, moreish quality. On the palate, it is medium-bodied and finely textured, with velvet-like tannins and impressive balance and salinity. There is plenty of depth and concentration here, but the style remains poised, precise and very much in keeping with Alkina’s contemporary take of Barossa Shiraz. It combines fruit from no fewer than seven separate Polygons (distinct micro-parcels identified by soil guru Pedro parra) blended in December 2023, then matured in a 700L concrete tulip and 320L ceramic amphora before bottling.