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Shiraz again accounts for the lion’s share of Australia’s best sparkling reds, with South Australia and Victoria fighting it out. In the final taste-off between Ashton Hills and Best’s, it was a clean sweep to the Clare Valley’s sole contender and the oldest inclusion in our shortlist – testimony to the value of age in this category (in this case, interestingly and unusually, not so much bottle age but four years in large-format oak). Find out more about our winning wine below.
2015 Ashton Hills Sparkling Shiraz
That bright purple spume of bubbles that erupts when you first pour a glass is quite something, huh. Deep notes of plum, cherry and black fruits, dotted with exotic spice, charcuterie, licorice, milk chocolate and earthen tones. It’s like the pure dark fruit envelops you when you take a sip, with comforting fruit sweetness, an expansive palate shape and a super-plummy, meaty-edged exit. Great drinking. – Dave Brookes
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*This is an edited extract from the 2022 Halliday Wine Companion, with reviews by Jane Faulkner, James Halliday, Erin Larkin, Tony Love, Ned Goodwin MW, Jeni Port and chief editor Tyson Stelzer.
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