CRITIC REVIEWS
David Sly
Always a more fine-boned Shiraz expression, this year’s model has higher, lighter notes of nutmeg and clove with a waft of anise and liquorice. While deliberately medium bodied, the palate weight seems a bit gaunt, abruptly shifting gears and lurching from a solid black cherry entry to a taut acid seam that stretches out the mid-palate. Compared with previous vintages, this seems wanting – a likely sign that vineyard restoration of this site has drastically reduced grape volumes and selection options for this vintage. RRP £139
Joe Czerwinski
The only single-estate wine in the lineup, the 2018 Magill Estate Shiraz is pieced together from the five hectares at Penfolds HQ in the Adelaide suburbs. Boysenberry and mulberry notes support vanilla and cedar accents, and theres a touch of roasted meat as well on the nose, while the full-bodied palate comes across as a bit coarse and open-knit, the tannins lacking that little extra bit of refinement. Its a fine effort but nowhere near the best wine in the Penfolds stable.