The back label reads as a succinct story of the wine: LOVE . COURAGE . INTEGRITY and follows from the very very good MV Riesling I. Part of the top tier of Gundog Estate wines, fruit from the Long Rail Gully vineyard in Murrumbateman, natural fermentation and ‘300 or so days’ maturation on skins. There’s a touch of Shiraz from Phillip Williams’ vineyard at Wallaroo which had the same treatment.

Gundog Estate, M BURTON , Shiraz, Canberra District, 2023

Beautifully dark and shiny colour thanks to the extended time on skin. Floral, delicate, understated and complex. Milk coffee, black jellybean, milk chocolate, baking spices, clove studs, cornflour, kirsch, blood plum, steel and a little hibiscus flower, The palate tense, lithe and spiced. Tannins are incredibly tight and fine, underpinning cool, dark fruit. Acidity still juicy and bright. The angles and frame are all there for the fruit to work into the corners over the next few years. 

RRP: $80
Alc: 13.2%
Rating: 95/100

Wine sample courtesy of Gundog Estate