Awards, Ratings & Reviews
100 Points — Decanter (Georgina Hindle)
(2018 Vintage, Tasted: Jul 2022)
“A meaty, savoury, spiced nose, something so welcoming about it, warm and friendly with a touch of perfume, dark chocolate, cinnamon and pink peppercorn to the blackcurrant, damsons and plums. Rich, ample and generous, yet delivered with such supple and velvety-soft tannins. This has an elegance to it, a cool sophistication in terms of the profile – neat and tidy, quite linear right now, brimming with energy, not yet fully expansive or loose, but quietly controlled and calm. It's confident though with invigorating acidity and I love the focus, detail and the purity of fruit. Sweet red fruits – strawberries, raspberries and red cherries with a slight balsamic, pomegranate edge that is so delicious. Juicy, crunchy, succulent and ripe but with an effortless edge to it. Supremely drinkable and likeable – what a gorgeous wine! A quality vintage and excellent winemaking skill on show. Ageing 18 months in French oak.”
98 Points — Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate (Erin Larkin)
(2018 Vintage, Tasted: May 2023)
“I thought that the 2014 had completely stolen my heart, but then there was this 2018 The Armagh Shiraz, bottled under Stelvin. This saw no American oak, as 2017 was the first year of 100% French. This is the first year with puncheons (no hogsheads) as well. It is so good, sensational, with a perfect fruit profile and orange oil character. It is fresh, beguiling, supple, intense, elegant, refined and full—all the good and important things in confluence here. It has 13.6% and matured for 18 months in 75% new and 25% one-year-old French oak hogsheads (300 litres) and puncheons (500 litres). This is a super star. The drinking window may be conservative—closure and winemaking could put this at 40 years with ease. And beyond.”
98 Points — Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
(2018 Vintage, Tasted: Jul 2022, When to drink: 2023–2040)
97 Points — Revista Adega
(2018 Vintage, Tasted: Mar 2024)
97 Points — Falstaff
(2018 Vintage, Tasted: Oct 2022)
“Deep ruby red colour with a broad ruby red rim. The nose is bursting with fresh fruit, with an intense aroma of mashed blackberry and blueberry. The palate is still very youthful and still paints a picture of primary fruit. The tannins are still in their furry and astringent state, but they are wonderfully ripe and fine. This still has a lovely floral quality about it. The acidity is bright and luminous. A superb balance characterises this youthful, generous, dense and full-fruited wonder.”
95 Points — The Wine Independent
(2018 Vintage, Tasted: Aug 2022, When to drink: 2023–2043)
About This Wine
The Armagh Shiraz is sourced from a single vineyard located 2 kilometres northwest of the Clare township, on the opposite side of the hill from the Jim Barry Winery. The vineyard takes its name from the nearby hamlet of Armagh, established by Irish settlers in 1849.
The vineyard is planted on sandy soils with a high clay content. The wine is matured in French oak for 18 months.
About the Winery
Jim Barry Wines was established in 1959 by Jim Barry and his wife Nancy in the Clare Valley. The family owns several key vineyards in the region, including Armagh, Florita and Lodge Hill, and is recognised for premium single-vineyard wines with long cellaring potential.
Specifications
- Vintage: 2018
- Grape Variety: 100% Shiraz
- Region: Clare Valley / South Australia / Australia
- Maturation: 18 months in French oak
- Sweetness: Dry
- Winemaker: Peter & Tom Barry
- Closure: Cork or screwcap
