The particularly rare Best’s Thomson Family Shiraz is one of Victoria’s greatest wines and represents a window to Australia’s winemaking past.
Like Henschke Hill of Grace and Penfolds Block 42 in the Barossa Valley, the Best’s Concongella Vineyard 1860s plantings at Great Western belong to Australia’s rich heritage of ancient genetic and pre-phylloxera vineyards.
The fifteen rows of dry-grown Shiraz vines, well over 140 years old, are the source material for the Thomson Family Shiraz.
96 Points Gary Walsh
There’s plenty of cedar/vanilla oak (better quality than younger vintages), liquorice and chocolate and masses of dark fruit. Less spice than some years. It’s rich and full – fatter and less structured than 1997 – but remarkable in its own brooding magnificent way. Excellent length and a satisfaction. A little more time needed. Ripper.