Product Overview
Winery's Notes:
"The Highland clans used a ‘RunRig’ system to distribute land amongst their clansmen in a series of widely dispersed holdings. The emphasis was not on any one farm but rather the communal element of the whole. Shiraz from old dry grown vineyards is blended with Viognier, complementing the strengths and complexities of these individual parcels of fruit, whilst giving the resulting wine a further dimension.
Aubergine core with a deep purple rim. Aromatics leap from the glass with great finesse and power yet with precision and focus. The lifted plum, black currant and dark cherry along with Turkish delight, star anise, earl grey tea and black olive combine with gorgeous plumes of subtle vanilla pod and cardamom aromas. The palate is dense, firm and powerful yet holds incredibly balanced fruit intermingled with voluminous structure. One of the better RunRig’s from lower than normal yields. A wine for the cellar best after 2025-2050. Serve at 16C with delicious rich flavoured cuisines."
Varietal Composition: 98% Shiraz, 2% Viognier
Appellation: Barossa Valley, South Australia
Aging: 30 months in French oak barriques, 50% new
97+ Points - Wine Advocate
"Tasting the RunRig beside the Descendant is always a wise move, in order to gain some contextual understanding of how they are similar and, perhaps more importantly, how they differ. This 2020 RunRig was sourced from six different vineyards across Barossa (in Lyndoch, Rowland Flat, Moppa, Ebenezer, Light Pass and Greenock) and includes a 2% "dosage" (as winemaker Ian Hongell described it) of Viognier. Matured for 30 months in a combination of new French oak (50%) and second and third fill barrels, the wine rests on its lees for that time. The lower percentage of Viognier here is a seductive and effective thing, adding just enough slick and polish to make this the sybaritic wine that it is, but little enough to allow the grunt, grit and muscle of the Shiraz from all those glorious locations to shine through. Despite the very long time in oak, the wine is balanced and excellent, big in almost every possible way but with an undeniable sense of class and length of flavor. Executed with detail and precision, this wine is clearly defined in its expression of house style." -EL, 4/6/23
97 Points - Vinous
"This beautifully composed 2020 RunRig, a blend of Shiraz with a touch of Viognier, is a masterpiece bringing together dense tannins with immaculate fruit in a package built for the cellar. It boasts impressively concentrated black licorice, black pepper, coal fire, tar and cocoa aromas, with high-quality oak along for the ride. Bone dry and firm. It's brooding, with flavors held tightly against a wall of tannins before slowly unwinding over a seriously long finish. Give it time, as this is far from ready." -AH, Mar/2023
96 Points, "Cellar Selection" - Wine Enthusiast
"Rich, evocative aromas of mulberry, blueberry, coffee bean and hot-cocoa mix lend approachability to what is otherwise a rich, dense wine, packed with flavor, but also with powerful, chalk dust tannins that need serious protein if opening now. Patience will be rewarded, however. Give this a few more years in bottle." -CP, 3/1/24
93 Points - Wine Spectator
"Aromatic and distinctive, with oolong tea, sage and a touch of lavender, plus accents of salted toffee to complement the core of blueberry and blackberry notes. Delivers dense but fine-grained tannins, firming up on the finish, where cigar box notes linger. Shiraz and Viognier. Drink now through 2030. 865 cases made, 200 cases imported." -MW, 11/15/23
