2022 Koomilya JC Block Shiraz
2022 Koomilya JC Block Shiraz

2022 Koomilya JC Block Shiraz

99 pts
S.C. Pannell |McLaren Vale |Shiraz
Recently crowned Best Shiraz in Australia, this limited old-vine McLaren Vale release shows off the depth, spice and mineral drive that make Koomilya so special.
5.0
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
2 Reviews
Price:
$150.00
Stock:
Sold out
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Description

The 2022 JC Block has just been crowned Best Shiraz in Australia by the Halliday Wine Companion, and honestly, it’s not hard to see why. This is one of the standout blocks at Koomilya, planted back in the early 70s and still giving fruit with incredible depth and character.

The season was a cool, slow one thanks to La Niña, and that extra hang time really shows in the wine. The tannins are fine and detailed, the fruit is dark and pure, and there’s that trademark ironstone, mineral edge that always seems to come out of this part of Upper Tintara. It’s structured and serious, but it still feels fresh and balanced rather than heavy.

Stephen Pannell doesn’t mess around with it either. Whole berries, wild ferment, long time on skins, big old oak – it’s all about letting the vineyard do the talking. The result is a Shiraz with layers of blackberry, plum and spice, backed by that ironstone, almost bloody mineral note that screams Upper Tintara. The tannins are beautifully fine but firm, giving it structure without ever feeling heavy.

Only a small amount of JC Block is made each year, and with the trophy now under its belt, it won’t stick around for long.

99 points & Best Shiraz in Australia
"The JC has a distinct shape, a harmony, an engulfing perfume, a blend of flavour depth with spice and dusky florals, and an effortlessness... one of Australia’s great wines."
- Halliday Wine Companion

Huon Hooke

Huon Hooke

The Real Review 98 Points

Dense, saturated purple colour. Stains the glass. Earthy, broken rock, ironstone-like aromas. Ripe peppery nuances as well. This wine is concentrated, powerful and the tannins mouth-coating, making a seriously deep impression. Juicy sweet fruit at the core, and very detailed flavours. This is a massive wine, which demands patience and should be cellared for maximum enjoyment. The payoff will be great.

Marcus Ellis

Marcus Ellis

Halliday Wine Companion 99 Points

2026 Shiraz of the Year. Score awarded by the Halliday tasting panel at the annual Awards judging. ME writes: There are three single-block iterations of Koomilya shiraz: GT, DC and JC. All are superb, but it is the JC that is cementing its reputation as one of Australia’s greatest wines. The survey may be relatively short, but I’m convinced. The '21 was breathtaking and this its equal, or thereabouts. The JC has a distinct shape, a harmony, an engulfing perfume, a blend of flavour depth with spice and dusky florals, and an effortlessness. Then the fragrance in the mouth billows up, envelops, stops you in your tracks. It’s suffused with place, the bush-fringed site, with a sense of fallen gums subsumed into the soil, intertwining with the ripe but not juicy deep red fruits, along with a rusty iron note, salumi and panforte. As said, one of Australia’s great wines.

Customer Reviews

5.0
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
Based on 2 reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 2 Total 4 star reviews: 0 Total 3 star reviews: 0 Total 2 star reviews: 0 Total 1 star reviews: 0
2 reviews
  • RC
    Rhys C.
    Verified Buyer
    18 seconds ago
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Try now!

    drinks so well for the age, love this wine

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  • MR
    Michael R.
    Verified Buyer
    1 hour ago
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Big red

    Magnificent… will be even better with a bit more time .

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2022 Vintage
2022 was a La Niña year. Winter and spring were wet and cold, followed by a mild summer and autumn. The season afforded long hang times and, therefore, greater tannin development.

These wines show strength, intensity, and glorious grape tannins, which wind the palate together almost like a double helix. The complex structure pulls you straight through. They illustrate what I hope modern McLaren Vale wine will be—harking back to the traditions of the 1960s, without the artifice of winemaking.

Above all, these wines look and taste Koomilya.

– Stephen Pannell

Wine Overview
A single-block Shiraz from 50-year-old vines grown on slaty siltstone with abundant ironstone rubble at 120m altitude. The vineyard faces southwest and is nestled in grey box scrub.

Harvest & Fermentation
The grapes were hand-harvested on 16 March. Whole berries were gently separated from the rachis and placed in a small stainless-steel fermenter. After spontaneous fermentation and 15 days on skins, the wine was gently pressed.

Maturation
The wine settled in tank for 36 days before transfer to a 4-year-old French oak vat for malolactic fermentation and six months of maturation. It was then racked once and returned to vat for extended maturation. Bottled without fining or additions on 27 September 2023.

Wine Analysis

Alcohol: 14%

pH: 3.47

TA: 6.3 g/L

Total sulphur: 58 ppm


The Place
Koomilya is more than just a vineyard in the Upper Tintara district of McLaren Vale – it is a place that delivers clarity and purpose. Planted originally to Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mataro, Riesling, and Chardonnay, the vineyard has evolved since its purchase in 2012. Chardonnay has been grafted to Touriga Nacional, Riesling to Tempranillo, more Mataro has been planted, and most Cabernet Sauvignon has been replaced with Grenache and Malbec. Shiraz remains, though at times its place has been questioned.

For me, all great wines must have a sense of place. My role has been to prune every vine, clear the scrub and creek line of feral olives, encourage the blue and red gums to thrive, replant native species, and remove bone seed to give orchids a chance to flourish. This work has allowed Koomilya to develop a true sense of place. The hum of beneficial arthropods and native fauna sets the property on a frequency that affects all who visit. Yet the question remains: do I have the right varieties in the right place?

Philosophy
From Grenache, I have learned that sweetness must be avoided to make truly great warm-climate reds. Shiraz, too, should not be sweet. I want dryness and texture from fruit, not oak. Balance, phenolics, and the absence of overripeness are critical. Shrivel must be avoided at all costs.

Yields are managed to an almost uneconomical three tonnes per hectare through minimal irrigation, crop thinning, leaf plucking, and strict vineyard uniformity. I generally pick at 13.5 Baumé, though I am not afraid of alcohol levels influencing the final balance. The goal is ripeness matched with intensity.

Warm-climate Australia needs to reclaim Shiraz, to recontextualise modern Australian red wine as something that speaks of place. Shiraz, when grown and made with restraint, can achieve this. At Koomilya, that journey is more important than ever, so the three blocks of Shiraz remain.

2022 Release
This year marks the fourth release of the three single-block Shiraz wines from the 2022 vintage. Each block is subtly different – in aspect and soil composition – but the winemaking is deliberately similar, allowing each to speak with its own voice.

I suggest tasting them in the order presented, so that you can experience what we are striving to achieve: preserving the landscape, and expressing the unique aromas and flavours that are unmistakably Upper Tintara and undeniably Koomilya.

– Stephen Pannell

Price Bracket $101 and Above
Type Red
Body Full Bodied
Variety Shiraz
Country Australia
Region McLaren Vale
Australian State SA
Reviewed By The Real Review
Halliday Wine Companion
Critic Score 99
Alcohol 14%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2022
Closure Screw Cap

S.C. Pannell

Quite simply, Stephen Pannell is one of Australia’s finest and most imaginative winemakers. He’s a Jimmy Watson Trophy winner, a McLaren Vale Bushing King winner, a two-time Max Schubert Trophy winner, International Red Winemaker of the Year and Decanter Magazine’s 50 Most Influential Contributors to the World of Wine. Nick Stock described him as potentially “one of the greatest Australian winemakers ever to make wines in our age”.

Steve’s wines are made with modern Australian food and wine culture at the front of mind. The wines come from a range of stunning McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills vineyards, and are made from sustainable varieties that properly suit his South Australian climate. They're built around brightness of fruit and savoury tannin structure, and whatever your poison is Steve has you covered!

He is truly one of the most forward-thinking and inspirational Australian winemakers alive today.

Visionary winemaker Stephen Charles Pannell Discover S.C. Pannell

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