A very savoury wine yet the fruit is distinct.
95 Points
Sometimes, you want to sit with a wine and allow it to unfurl in the glass to best explore its nuances, to allow it to reveal them. Marked Tree Red is such a drink with the immediate fragrant, spicy, whole-bunch character and meaty reduction kick-starting its complex profile. So much here: layers of flavour from red fruits, warm earth and smoky, cured meats to pepper and wood char. A very savoury wine yet the fruit is distinct. Medium-bodied with fine tannins and excellent length. So compelling, so delicious.
2024 Halliday Wine Companion, 06 Jul 2023
2021 Collector Marked Tree Red Shiraz
Blend
Season
Viticulture
Winemaking
Taste
Shiraz (100%), CANBERRA DISTRICT
The 2021 season presented good conditions for vine health in the
Canberra District. A moist Spring and Summer and temperate
conditions in late summer allowed the grapes to ripen in stress
free conditions, producing shiraz grapes with fantastic spice,
flesh, density and backbone.
The Marked Tree Red comprises hand-worked parcels of shiraz
from vineyards in and around Murrumbateman. The mix of granite
and shale soils produce fruit which is both perfumed and
elegantly structured as well as savoury, textured and rich.
The grapes were hand-harvested at between 12.5 and 13.5 Baume.
Fermentation with whole bunches took place in open fermenters
which were worked to extract flavour and tannin. Parcels went
through a malolactic fermentation and ageing in a mix of new and
seasoned Allier and Troncais oak. Blending and bottling took
place in March 2022.
The wine’s lively crimson colour is accompanied by a fragrant
bouquet of dark cherry, blackberry, pepper and aniseed, with a
savoury, textured mouthfeel. Although weighted for early
drinking, the 2021 Marked Tree Red has a sturdy spine and will
age gracefully.
