98 points - "One of Hentley Farm's flagship wines + a stellar Barossa vintage = a very good thing indeed. It's a study in fruit density and grace, with stunningly pure satsuma plum and black berry fruits, layers of spice, licorice, dark chocolate, turned earth, ironstone and blueberry flan. Full bodied with a thick layer of gypsum-dust fine tannins, there is a real sense of elegance and poise despite all the plush fruit and latent power. Some finish, too! Long, sustained and rich, it's a no-brainer for the cellar." - Dave Brookes (Halliday Wine Companion)

98 points - "Ink black core with a deep and staining purple rim. Heady aromas of ripe mulberry, candied violets, rope liquorice and pepper spices. Full and weighty on the palate, dark fruit is layered amongst earthy spices, wakame and ironstone. Tannins are prodigious so the flow retains tension and focus right to almost never-ending finish. A benchmark of Barossa, big and bold but keeping balance." - Stuart Knox (The Real Review)

96 points - "Quite some perfume in with all that brooding black fruit and dark cherry, cocoa, a ferrous feel, ozone, panforte. You’d have to say it’s full-bodied, and yet, it seems quite light on its feet, rich flavour, all spice and black forest cake, that ferrous feel to tannin is a theme, and the finish is very long and complete, some coffee bean in the aftertaste. Gee, it’s some wine. Outstanding." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

96 points - "The 2021 season in the Barossa was a ripper. A wet lead-in through spring set the place up for a good season beyond; yields were decent after two years of significantly reduced yields, and the summer was mild—devoid of heat spikes. An Indian summer ensued, and the end of the season imposed no looming climatic threats that forced producers to pick prior to the grapes being ready. So here, the 2021 Clos Otto Shiraz is a huge wine, as expected, with an earthy, capacious mid-palate shaped by a streamlined casing of tannin. This is both polished and gutsy, velvety and yet savory. It has notes of iodine, roasted meat crust, licorice/aniseed, dark chocolate, clove, blackberry jam and a hint of pine needle through the finish. There is plenty of alcohol here to warm the cockles, but it falls blessedly short of desiccating the fruit characters through the finish. This is an opulently styled wine—true to form—and a great iteration of it, at that." - Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

Pre-Vintage

Rainfall: Winter (average) | Spring (above average)
Temperature: Warm Spring and early Summer, with no extreme heat
Upshot: Consistent flowering and fruit set, resulting in a healthy canopy

Vintage

Rainfall: Summer (below average) | Autumn (light)
Temperature: Days (cool, below average) | Nights (cool)

Upshot: Mild, even ripening conditions, leading to gradual and dense flavor accumulation with high natural acidity

Seppeltsfield Vineyard

Vineyard: Very shallow red clay loam overlying shattered limestone | North-south oriented rows | Elevated eastern aspect

Winemaking

Fermentation: De-stemmed | Skin maceration for 8-12 days | Open pump-overs & hand plunging | Basket pressed | 55% New French Oak | Natural malolactic fermentation | 22 months maturation
Technical Analysis: Alcohol: 14.8% | pH: 3.55 | Acid: 6.5g/L | Residual Sugar: <1.0g/L
Harvest Dates: 18 Feb - 5 Mar 2021

Sensorial Profile

Profile: Black raspberry, nutmeg, fresh mulberry, vanilla flower
Texture: Persistent drive and length, with complex, elegant layers of fruit intensity and balanced, well-integrated tannins
Release

Upshot: Reduced natural vine vigor, resulting in an intense and vibrant wine
Bottling Date: February 2023

Blocks: G-Block
Cellaring Potential: Drink now through 2034+