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As one of the most revered sites in the Barossa Valley, The Laird vineyard effortlessly showcases the power, complexity and longevity of Barossa shiraz.
The Laird is used to being top dog at Torbreck and now that The Forebear has arrived (in 2024) it will have to share the throne. Has this worried The Laird? Not a bit of it because it has allowed this wine to become even more of a showman.
In Scottish terminology, ‘The Laird’ refers to the Lord of the Manor.
This single vineyard Shiraz comes from an old vineyard in Marananga, planted in 1958. The five acre vineyard is traditionally dry grown and comes from an original Barossa clonal source. South facing, on the eastern side of a ridge separating the Seppeltsfield and Marananga appellations, these aged vines have been meticulously hand tended, traditionally farmed and pruned by a grower with a lifetime’s experience on Western Barossa soils of very dark, heavy clay loam over red friable clay. The resulting low yields of small, concentrated Shiraz berries make the vineyard the envy of all winemakers in the Barossa.
A warm, low-yielding vintage. Sourced from vineyards dating from the 1960s, prone to cooling afternoon breezes that facilitate a long hang-time and supple tannins. Violet, clove and cardamon notes. A complex potpourri of spices confers savoriness to the blue and black fruit. The oak is toasty but well placed to corral and compress the fruit rather than overwhelm it. Drinkable now, but best from 2028.
On the nose, the wine leads with resin and kicked black dirt, pipe tobacco, charred sandalwood, blackberries and blood plum. On the palate, the wine is laden with black peppercorns and black olive brine, lashings of charcoal, black tea and every other manner of black thing (clove, arnica, salted licorice and balsamic poached strawberries). It is an eloquent product of the dry 2019 season (300 or so days without effective rain!), and ultimately, it is this that makes the wine great—its ability to express the year and the vineyard with such expressiveness is thrilling. Actually, going back to the wine now, it is opening up (it was poured straight from bottle without decanting) and becoming more fleshy, defined by Satsuma plum and mulberry and detailed aromatically. This wine will evolve gracefully over the years. 15.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork and wax.
Food pairing
Hearty and rich dishes including Lamb, stews or beef
Drink from 2030 till 2055
3 Hours
Ratings
96/100 James Suckling
97+/100 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
98/100 James Halliday's Australian Wine Companion
98/100 Decanter Magazine
20/20 Matthew Jukes
