2021 Castagna Un Segreto

96 pts
96 points: Castagna's biodynamic Beechworth blend of Sangiovese and Shiraz. Savoury, structured and built to age.

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Description

Castagna is one of the quiet greats of Beechworth, and Un Segreto might be the most intriguing wine in the lineup: a Sangiovese and Shiraz blend that tastes like nothing else in the country. Julian Castagna planted his vineyard in the late 90s and has farmed it biodynamically ever since. His wines have a cult following for their savoury, European-leaning style.

The 2021 is 60% Sangiovese and 40% Shiraz. In effect it's a marriage of Castagna's two flagship reds, La Chiave and Genesis, from the same high-country granite site. Sangiovese leads here, bringing the brightness, acidity and those firm, powdery tannins. Shiraz fills in the depth and perfume.

Expect red and sour cherry, dried herbs, anise and a dusting of spice, with an earthy, mineral thread running underneath. It's savoury rather than fruit-heavy and built on tension, not weight. The two grapes really do read as one wine. It's not a wine that shows everything straight away. Give it some air and it keeps unfolding, and there's plenty of structure for it to age well over the next decade.

A distinctive, beautifully balanced Beechworth red from one of the region's pioneering producers.

96 points
"It's an exciting style that deserves greater recognition... this is definitely one worth sharing, indeed, yelling about."
- Jeni Port (Halliday Wine Companion)

94 points
"Those grapes merged seamlessly and became one. Very substantial"
- Kasia Sobiesiak (The Wine Front)

93 points
"A quite individual style of red wine, combining the best of both varieties."
- Huon Hooke (The Real Review)

96 points - "60/40% sangiovese/syrah. Sangiovese takes the lead role, and it’s a commanding presence, laying a dark and savoury groundwork for this new classic Aussie red. It's an exciting style that deserves greater recognition. 'Un segreto' translates to English as 'a secret', and this is definitely one worth sharing, indeed, yelling about. Packed with black cherry, sour cherry, wild strawberry fruits, anise and spice. It rolls along to a lively, juicy tannin beat and a lingering Italian-esque, mineral, earthy, dry savouriness that so perfectly reflects its Beechworth home. The lasting impression is one of elegance and an inherent ability to age further and very well." - Jeni Port (Halliday Wine Companion)

94 points - "This is 60% Sangiovese, 40% Shiraz. Meaty and savoury wine with wet forest-floor thread, aniseed, wet chalk tannin, cinnamon-scroll spicy traction, layers of spice and bitter herbs. Those grapes merged seamlessly and became one. Very substantial" - Kasia Sobiesiak (The Wine Front)

93 points - "(60% sangiovese 40% shiraz) Has the chocolate of shiraz and broken rock and iron filings characteristic of sangiovese. Tannins are very savoury and drying without astringency. A quite individual style of red wine, combining the best of both varieties. A blend of Genesis and La Chiave." - Huon Hooke (The Real Review)

Un Segreto moves with a kind of quiet confidence — unhurried, unbothered by fashion, and deeply anchored in its own identity. As a blend of Sangiovese and Syrah, it carries both heritage and adaptation, but in 2021 the two varieties feel less like components and more like a single voice, speaking fluently of place.

The aromatics are immediately compelling, though never overstated. There is a beguiling perfume of red cherry and dried herbs, edged with subtle earth and lifted by fine spice. It draws you in gently, revealing itself in layers rather than declarations. There's a natural harmony here — nothing sits apart, everything feels considered.

On the palate, the wine is defined by its line and energy. Medium-bodied, it leans into brightness and precision, with a vivid thread of acidity that gives the wine its shape and forward motion. The tannins are firm yet refined, powdery in texture, providing structure without heaviness. They frame the fruit rather than overshadow it.

Fruit expression remains restrained — held in check by the architecture of the wine — allowing savoury notes and a quiet mineral edge to come through. It's a wine built on tension rather than weight, where the interplay between freshness and structure creates both interest and longevity.

With air, Un Segreto opens gradually, revealing further detail and nuance. It's not immediate, but patient — rewarding those who give it time in the glass.

A composed and expressive wine, where Sangiovese brings its brightness and structure, Syrah its depth and perfume — together forming something complete, balanced, and enduring.

Price Bracket $51 to $100
Type Red
Body Full Bodied
Variety Sangiovese
Country Australia
Region Beechworth
Australian State VIC
Feature High Score
Reviewed By Halliday Wine Companion
The Wine Front
The Real Review
Critic Score 96
Alcohol 13.5%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2021
Closure DIAM Cork

Castagna

Castagna helped establish Beechworth as a home for serious Australian wine, championing biodynamic farming, fragrant Syrah and Sangiovese along the way. Founded by Julian Castagna in the late 1990s, it remains a family operation, with son Adam now an integral part of the vineyard and winery.

The estate sits at around 500 metres in the foothills of the Victorian Alps, on decomposed granite over clay. Warm days ripen the fruit fully, while cool nights help retain the acidity that gives these wines their freshness and ability to age.

Certified organic and biodynamic, the vineyard is central to everything the family does. Vines are pruned by hand, yields are kept low and fruit is hand-picked, before fermentation with indigenous yeasts and patient maturation in the cellar.

Syrah and Sangiovese are particular strengths, combining concentrated fruit with perfume, savoury detail and fine tannins. These are the qualities we love about Castagna: distinctive Beechworth wines with plenty of flavour, satisfying texture and a proven capacity to develop in the cellar.

Julian and Adam Castagna Castagna

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