Tyrrell's Sacred Sites Release

Vineyard planted in 1908. Aged in puncheons.

White peach and green pear, a floral top note, fennel/liquorice, a hazelnut and umami character. It sports a fine soft texture, tight almost 'minerally' acidity, some juiciness of white fruit with a dash of lime, a savoury green olive edge too, light chalky grip, then a crisp, saline finish of excellent length. It's good now, sure, but needs a few years to really get into its groove. 95 Points, drink 2024-2033, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front.

Something to note on this wine, is the colour is not that intense purple that you get some years (and maybe the best ones), not that there's anything wrong with the colour here, it's just a comment.

Roses and violets, iodine, dried herbs, red and black berries (mainly red though), a little exotic and spicy, even a slight liquorice character. Medium-bodied, succulence of red and blue fruit, a little bit more chalky in tannin, nice flow, line and length here. It has a particularly pleasing 'mineral' character to it, I'd say. It's maybe not one of the great 4 acres, though it's a distinctive and beautiful wine all the same.
95 points, drink 2025-2036, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front.

The odd one out in the Tyrrell's reds, as it's planted on sandy soils. It's also matured in a new large French oak cask.

Savoury, gently earthy style, aniseed, boysenberry and blueberry, dusty spicy oak. It offers a good core of fruit, a fine grained sandiness/gravel feel to tannin, a little toasty oak shows its hand as a young wine, but gee there's an excellent volume of fruit here, and a finish of excellent length. It's supple and succulent and will show very well with a few more years under its belt. Johnno's has a loyal following, and no doubt some fanciers may think my scoring a little churlish, but there you have it. 94 +Points, drink 2026-2039, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front.

The Johnno's Block vineyard was planted in 1908, on sandy alluvial soils. The fruit from this vineyard was picked a week later (February 23rd) than the 4 Acres and the 8 Acres fruit. Darker in color and with more depth on the nose, this 2021 Johnno's Shiraz is laden with cocoa, star anise, cooking spices, Dutch licorice and a whiff of pastrami. In the mouth, this is dark and brooding (not a comment on alcohol, this, like the others, is 13%) and ferruginous, with a snarl of tannin and spice woven through the finish. It's a standout wine and one that will get better in time, as it gains acceleration in the dark spice space. Hold. 96+ Points. Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate.