Christie and Peter Shultz have produced a very good rich, chocolatey wine off ancient vines located at Tanunda in the Barossa Valley in nineteen-ninety-nine. Still holding a solid deep red colour, the bouquet houses a fair whack of seasoned French oak imparting savoury notes of chocolate and mocha. A little touch of cigar box adds complexity. Autumn leaves and a hint of dried herbs add a nice varietal touch to the equation. Mostly blackberry and plum fruit underneath. The medium-bodied palate delivers a smooth, mouthcoating texture, low acidity and soft, ripe tannins on a relatively long, satisfying finish. The fruit and oak have meshed superbly offering up flavours of dark chocolate, plum with a distinct “sweetness”. The savoury/coffee oak seems more subdued here, although the flavour profile probably says more about the climate/region than the variety. Drinking extremely well now and for a few years to come - 88 points - Very Good, verging on Excellent. 14% A/V, and sealed with a pathetically small cork.

Made by the legendary ex-Leo Buring Riesling guru, John Vickery, sealed with a stelvin screwcap and 12% alcohol by volume.

The most brilliant starbright pale lemon/green. If not for the severe reduction on both nose and palate, I believe there’d be a lot to like about this wine. Continual small pours over six hours all suffered the same fate - cordite, struck match and rubber overpowering some delectable tight citrus fruit with a toasty undertone. The acid structure on the palate provides suggests many years of development if not for the dominating sulphide problems, of course. Bummer. 75 points. Postscript - the last glass sat for one hour without swirling and definitely lost some of the sulphur on both nose and palate - a much better wine in every department. Closer to 85 points now.

Once again, raises the issue of proper/careful sulphur management by winemakers when using screwcaps.