Led by Dave Brookes’ 96-point Halliday review, this 2024 Ebenezer Shiraz is a compelling modern Barossa expression drawn from the Hoffmann Dallwitz Old and Dimchurch Home Old sites, with vine material dating from 1888 to 1951 on red clay, ironstone and calcrete. Brookes captures it neatly as a wine of “considerable heft and power,” yet what elevates it for the cellar is the refinement running through that depth: a dark, saturated fruit profile of plum and blackberry, layered with peppercorn, exotic spice, earth, pan-juice savouriness and dark chocolate, all carried by a line of freshness that keeps the wine poised rather than weighty. Campbell Mattinson likewise noted its unusual lift and finely handled acidity, while Mike Bennie emphasised its old-vine depth, spice and lingering, savoury finish. The 2024 Barossa season was marked by low winter and spring rainfall, frost losses in parts of the region, then cooler late-season conditions that supported strong quality and an early finish to harvest; that combination seems to show here in the wine’s concentration, structural clarity and energetic cadence. For a collector, this is an Ebenezer Shiraz with substance, old-vine authority and a more illuminated, finely etched profile than the subregional stereotype often suggests.

Critic Scores:

• 96 - Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion

• 95 - Campbell Mattinson, United Cellars

• 94 - Mike Bennie, The Wine Front