When Ruggabellus arrived on the scene, it created quite a stir. Abel Gibson picked the Rhone varieties much earlier than anybody else and used 100% whole-bunch on Shiraz. Lately it has been quieter other than the announcement he is going back to cork.
The other development is that from the early concept of only making GSM blends of different proportions for the premium wines, he added a 100% Shiraz. This is actually similar to Peter Schell of Spinifex, the master blender of the Barossa, who finally added 100% Shiraz as an ultra premium wine.
So this is the 100% Shiraz from the Eden Valley, the 2018 Ruggabellus Archaeus. I reviewed this wine about 20 months ago, and found it a bit unbalanced. Time to have another look.
The flavours are of red cherry and pomegranate, quite fresh. Herbal notes and firm acidity are quite prominent as well. This time, the wine is a bit more rounded than 20 months ago, but I find it a bit medicinal on the finish.
Score: 93/+
No comments:
Post a Comment