2017 Hentley Farm Clos Otto Shiraz

CELLAR RELEASE - 5 Bottles Available.
Opulence, complexity and balance all come to mind when thinking about the Clos Otto Shiraz… With vines planted by previous owner Otto Kasper using a cutting from an ageing and secret Shiraz clone, and tended to with almost antique machinery and a well-practiced hand, the Clos Otto vineyard consistency yields super low quantities with ultra rich flavours. (Hentley Farm Official)

96 Points - Huon Hooke, The Real Review (04 Feb 2020)
Deep, rich red/purple colour, very youthful and bright. Toasty oak, earthy, blackberry and chocolate aromas, with traces of spice and mint. It's full-bodied and forceful, intense and rich, with brilliant energy and vitality. The palate is very full-bodied, lively and strong, with abundant supple, ripe tannins that melt in the mouth. A hint of choc-mint on the end-palate. A superb example of a big Barossa shiraz. (60-65% new French oak).

95 Points - Angus Hughson, Wine Pilot
Great story behind this wine. A German ex-customs officer moves to the Barossa and plants a vineyard. He works it hard, largely alone, then pulls up stumps and returns home. It turns out that he has chosen an exceptional site on Greenock Creek that can turn out delicious and ageworthy wines.
The 2017 vintage is a wine that superbly balances the richer and more subtle sides of the Barossa. It is ripe and sweet with kirsch and blackcurrant fruit plus impressive oak then overlaid with Chinese Five Spice, violets and earth. The wine then has richness and power on the palate but carries it well, with moderate tannins plus a harmonious and lingering finish. Delicious but also with the backbone to age well.