Jim Barry The Armagh Shiraz 2014

Wine Description

The wine has a crimson red colour with a magenta hue and is made from 100% Shiraz/Syrah. The nose is complex and fragrant, offering intense aromas of rich dark fruit, mocha, and garden herbs, with lifted notes of elderberry, dark plum, choc mint, liquorice, and graphite. Critics have also noted vanilla, cedar, and boysenberry aromas. The full bodied palate displays rich black cherry and blackberry fruits, sweet forest floor, red cherry, and milk chocolate, intertwined with mocha-like oak, aniseed, and baking spice notes. It is a wine of great complexity and power, described as a “reference claret style” with an intense, plush, and generous flavour. The finish is long and lingering, firm and oaky, with persistent sweet fruit length and firm tannins. The tannins are described as velvety, savoury, finely grained, and suave. This powerful and poised wine is built for longevity, with an optimal drinking window suggested to last until 2044.

Accolades

• James Halliday Wine Companion – 96 Points

• Matthew Jukes Decanter – 96 Points

• Nick Stock James Suckling – 95 Points

• Huon Hooke The Real Review – 95 Points

• Joe Czerwinski Robert Parkers Wine Advocate – 94 Points

• Falstaff – 97 Points

• Jane Anson – Inside Bordeaux – 97 Points

• Robert Parker The Wine Advocate – 97 Points

• Wine Enthusiast – 94 Points

• TEXSOM International Wine Awards – Silver Medal (2020)

Food Pairing

• Suggested pairings for this full-bodied Shiraz include dry-aged ribeye steak, venison or roast duck, truffle risotto, and hard cheeses like aged Gouda or Manchego.

• The rich and intense style of the wine also pairs well with beef dishes.

• This pairing highlights the wine’s depth and character.

Vintage Quality

• The 2014 vintage in the Clare Valley was generally acclaimed as a top quality year, despite yields being down due to a relatively dry spring, summer, and a period of extreme heat.

• A significant rainfall in mid-February provided critical relief to the water-stressed Shiraz vines, allowing for ideal ripening conditions and good to excellent fruit quality for the variety.