2023 Estate Shiraz Block 1
100% Old Vine Shiraz grown on our Certified Organic home vineyard in Stone Well in the Western Barossa Valley. Block 1 is a special Shiraz Block, planted in the 1940s and dry grown for much of the time since. Matured for 20 months in new and second use 300l French Oak hogsheads, before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.
The soil in this section of the vineyard is deep gravelly loam over red clay and mottled clay.
The wine has all the hallmarks of the Stone Well area - bright purple red hue, blackberry and earth, full bodied. The dense fruit is balanced by abundant natural tannins. Brilliant Vintage, and one of our very best wines. A wine that will improve for many years in the right cellar conditions.
100% Old Vine Shiraz grown on our Certified Organic home vineyard in Stone Well in the Western Barossa Valley. Block 1 is a special Shiraz Block, planted in the 1940s and dry grown for much of the time since. Matured for 20 months in new and second use 300l French Oak hogsheads, before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.
The soil in this section of the vineyard is deep gravelly loam over red clay and mottled clay.
The wine has all the hallmarks of the Stone Well area - bright purple red hue, blackberry and earth, full bodied. The dense fruit is balanced by abundant natural tannins. Brilliant Vintage, and one of our very best wines. A wine that will improve for many years in the right cellar conditions.
100% Old Vine Shiraz grown on our Certified Organic home vineyard in Stone Well in the Western Barossa Valley. Block 1 is a special Shiraz Block, planted in the 1940s and dry grown for much of the time since. Matured for 20 months in new and second use 300l French Oak hogsheads, before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.
The soil in this section of the vineyard is deep gravelly loam over red clay and mottled clay.
The wine has all the hallmarks of the Stone Well area - bright purple red hue, blackberry and earth, full bodied. The dense fruit is balanced by abundant natural tannins. Brilliant Vintage, and one of our very best wines. A wine that will improve for many years in the right cellar conditions.
Technical Tasting Notes
2023 ESTATE BLOCK 1 SHIRAZ
GROWING SEASON
The 2023 Barossa Valley vintage will be remembered as one of the latest ripening vintages in recent memory. After a wet winter, the rains continued into November. This meant the growing season was off to a slow start. The Barossa season from this point on was almost perfect with ripening occurring well into Autumn. Unusual for the Barossa and certainly impacting the style of the wines particularly those coming from later ripening, overcropped or cooler sites. A vintage that will have a split personality, the great vineyards with the best growers on warm sites excelled. The wines from the 2023 vintage will undoubtedly surprise many but are definitely in the modern spectrum more akin to cooler regions.
TASTING NOTE
Our Single Block Estate Stone Well Shiraz from Block 1 of our Estate Vineyard in Stone Well. This wine is Certified Organic. The soil in this section of the vineyard is deep gravelly loam over red clay and mottled clay. The wine has all the hallmarks of the Stone Well area and truly one of my favourites this vintage. Will cellar beautifully.
SPECIFICATIONS
Region: Barossa Valley
Sub Region: Stone Well
Variety: Shiraz
Alcohol: 14.5%
Production: 2000 bottles
Cellaring: 10 years+
Winemaker: Andrew Seppelt
Download Technical Tasting Notes 2023 Vintage ➝
Download Technical Tasting Notes 2022 Vintage ➝
Download Technical Tasting Notes 2021 Vintage ➝
Download Technical Tasting Notes 2020 Vintage ➝
Download Technical Tasting Notes 2019 Vintage ➝
Reviews
2023 Estate Shiraz Block 1
Ryan Montgomery (jamessuckling.com)
93 Points - A well-crafted, balanced and chiseled shiraz showing aromas of mulberries, wild currants, dried peppercorns and wild herbs. Full-bodied with fine, firm tannins. A seductive texture with a dense and linear core of dark berries and spices at the center. Plenty of drive, with structure and focus. A flavorful and intense finish with length. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
2022 Estate Shiraz Block 1
Dave brookes (Halliday Wine Companion)
95 Points - Certified-organic, 1940s-planted shiraz from Hayes Block 1 in the famous subregion of Stone Well. Pure blackberry, macerated satsuma plum and dark cherry fruits with hints of baking spices, licorice, dark chocolate, panforte, ironstone, graphite and pressed flowers. Like its stablemate, the Block 9, there is a broody aspect to the wine with deep black fruits, tannins perhaps a little finer but dense and compact and a rich, black-fruited roll on the way out.
Stuart Knox (Real Review)
95 Points - Intensely deep ruby, almost impenetrable at the core. Plum, ironstone, bresaola and dried woody herb aromatics. There's density and weight to the dark fruit that immediately ensnares your attention. As these fill the palate a melange of dark spices and savoury meat and iron undertones add further to the complexity and character of this wine. Tannins are big, but in this context they are perfectly balanced and offer direction and focus, carrying it incredibly long and drying the end with precision. Please serve a big joint of beef alongside it to allow it to really shine 14 FEB 2024
2024–2039
Steve Leszczynski (WWW.QWINEREVIEWS.COM)
95 Points - A Shiraz in mint condition that will live long and comes off Hayes' organic 70 years+ vines. Super fine through the mouth, it's a joyous ride through the pleasuredome. To be released in June 2022, there is a delicacy here. From a vintage that was the third successive drought year, 2020 yielded half of the 2019 fruit and one third of the 2021 vintage. Some blocks on the estate produced less than 100kg per acre.
As a result of the low production, the berries were tiny and concentrated. All that said and done, this is a fine and silky smooth Shiraz yet there's some impressive weight and generosity. I'm going to go out there and say it is the best Block 1 I've seen to date. Blueberries and purple fruit glisten. They call you in and whisk you away on a delicious ride. A whisper of cedar and a faint lick of caramel, it's hard to deny the charismatic appeal as it glides through the mouth. A wine that would benefit from more bottle age, it will repay the patience but a good decant prior to drinking now would be ideal. Above all, it's an excellent wine.
The Hayes Family Wines Estate Shiraz, Mataro and Grenache are due for release 1 June 2022.
Drink to ten years+
2021 Estate Shiraz Block 1
Stuart Knox (Real Review)
95 Points - Inky black core into a deep purple rim. Mulberry, lavender and ironstone aromatics. Dense and weighty on the palate with ripe black fruits melding into a deep ironstone and bitter chocolate savoury tone. Tannins are velvet but powerfully intent and ensure length and dryness at the finish. Cellaring will be well rewarded here 01 FEB 2023
2023–2038
Dave brookes (Halliday Wine Companion)
95 Points - Certified organic, 1940s-planted shiraz from Hayes Block 1 in the famous subregion of Stone Well. Glossy blackberry and plum fruits on display here with hints of warm earth, baking spices, ironstone, blueberry pie, barbecued meats, cedar, chocolate bullets and violets. Unctuous fruit density with tightly-packed, powdery tannins and a slew of glistening blackberry fruits on the long finish. Just the merest hint of heat, but blimey it's good drinking.
Aaron Brasher
Inky in the glass. Dense, dark and brooding aromas of blackberry, plum, sweet oak and spice. Rich and dark fruit driven on the palate, layered and plush with plenty of mocha, coffee grounds and oak. Powerful and opulent, yet beautifull balanced 12 MAR 2023
2023–2038
2020 Estate Shiraz Block 1
Steve Leszczynski (WWW.QWINEREVIEWS.COM)
95 Points - A Shiraz in mint condition that will live long and comes off Hayes' organic 70 years+ vines. Super fine through the mouth, it's a joyous ride through the pleasure dome. To be released in June 2022, there is a delicacy here. From a vintage that was the third successive drought year, 2020 yielded half of the 2019 fruit and one third of the 2021 vintage. Some blocks on the estate produced less than 100kg per acre.
As a result of the low production, the berries were tiny and concentrated. All that said and done, this is a fine and silky smooth Shiraz yet there's some impressive weight and generosity. I'm going to go out there and say it is the best Block 1 I've seen to date.
Blueberries and purple fruit glisten. They call you in and whisk you away on a delicious ride. A whisper of cedar and a faint lick of caramel, it's hard to deny the charismatic appeal as it glides through the mouth. A wine that would benefit from more bottle age, it will repay the patience but a good decant prior to drinking now would be ideal. Above all, it's an excellent wine.
The Hayes Family Wines Estate Shiraz, Mataro and Grenache are due for release 1 June 2022.
Drink to ten years+
2019 Estate Shiraz Block 1
Not Yet Reviewed
2018 Estate Shiraz Block 1
2021 Wine Companion (James Halliday)
94 Points - Bright, full purple-crimson hue; the wine is nakedly full-bodied, earthy blackberry fruit locked in combat with ripe but uncompromising tannins. There's oak somewhere in the fray, but it's hard to detect. The one thing the wine needs is time - lots of it.
Steve Leszczynski (www.qwinereviews.com)
94 Points - The Hayes Family Wines Block 1 sits beside the driveway directly opposite the winery as you head down towards the cellar door. The 70 year old+ vineyard is now certified organic too. Embrace this superb Barossa Shiraz - one to treasure in the future.
A riot of mulberry fruit with tinges of blueberries greet you. With a glamorous cerise hue in the glass, there's a cordon of savoury notes underpinning the fruit with clove, cedar and some vanilla adding to the dried herb flecks. It glistens in the glass and feels bright and energetic in the mouth, yet this will live long - make no mistake. Majestic Shiraz.
Drink 2021 to a decade+
Ralph Kyte-Powell (therealreview.com)
90 Points - Dense, glass-staining colour augurs well for concentration in this young Barossa red. It has it too, but it's not one of those big porty types. There are earthy, meaty demi-glace touches to a core of plum and berry fruit and dusty spice, tracking through an intense palate to a grippy, tannic finish 16/3/2020
Drink 2021 to 2028
2017 Vineyard Series Stone Well Shiraz
2020 Wine Companion (James Halliday)
95 Points - Block 1 of the Stone Well Vineyard performed exceptionally well in '17, says Andrew Seppelt, and the wine reflects that. While medium to full-bodied, it has a juicy licorice/dark chocolate subset to the dark fruit and well ripened tannins. 33 dozen made.
Drink by: 2032
Steve Leszczynski (www.qwinereviews.com)
94 Points - Coming from Block 1, this estate grown vineyard was planted in 1950. Living a glittering past having previously provided fruit for other Barossa wineries, this is the first release for the Hayes label.
A pretty piece with a cerise and bright purple hue, scents of cola and tilled black earth ease you in. Moreish and then some, dark fruits, cedar and cloves are ribbed through its profile. Dried red flower aromas rise up after a few more swirls. Licks of char match it's brooding persona as drying cocoa-like tannins sit long urging another sip. Mouth-filling with admirable width and depth, this is a beautiful Barossa Shiraz.
Drink 2020 to eight years+
Steve Leszczynski
qwinereviews.com, March 2018
