2023 Head Wines The Blonde Shiraz
2023 Head Wines The Blonde Shiraz

2023 Head Wines The Blonde Shiraz

97 pts
Head Wines |Barossa Valley |Shiraz
A rare and elegant expression of Barossa Shiraz sourced from 1893 vines in Ebenezer. Just 47 dozen released.
Price:
$60.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
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Description

If "The Brunette" is the brooding, dark-fruited powerhouse, "The Blonde" is its perfumed, elegant counterpoint. For the 2023 vintage, Alex Head has sourced this wine from a very old and storied site: the Riebke Old Vineyard in Ebenezer, planted in 1893.

While Ebenezer is typically famous for producing some of the Barossa's most powerful, muscular wines, this specific block tells a different story. Sitting on white and yellow sand over sandstone and fossilised limestone, and facing east to shelter the vines from the harsh afternoon sun, it produces fruit of incredible finesse. It fits the "Blonde" brief perfectly - delivering lifted aromatics, supple textures and soft, silky tannins.

It is a fascinating expression of ancient vine Barossa Shiraz that favours beauty over brawn. With the vines now well over 130 years old, they offer a natural balance and complexity that you just can't manufacture. Production is vanishingly small, with only 47 dozen bottles released.

97 points
"It opens to luscious red fruit that slides easily and gently over a luxurious, long palate before closing discretely with the tapering of fine-grained tannins. Exciting now, it will reveal even more excitement after more than five years in the cellar."
- David Sly (Decanter)

Steve Leszsynski

Steve Leszsynski

Q Wine Reviews 95 Points

This is a great drink from Head Wines. It's not the broad and bulky Barossa Shiraz that some may assume. There is a prettiness and fleet-footedness as it dances through the palate. 'The Blonde' is derived from the limestone soils on which these vines are grown. Dive into a pool of baked red plum skins, dark cherries, red currants and mulberries. A minerally impact makes itself known and tucks behind a host of savoury highlights. Mocha, char, dried herbs, beef stock and dark chocolate all peel off with ease yet work in unison demonstrating an even flow. The persistent and superfine finish caps things off perfectly. I just want to drink it. Simple! And if that's the sign of a great wine, rush at this. Drink to eight years+.

David Sly

David Sly

Decanter Magazine 97 Points

Winemaker Alex Head says this single-block expression is his homage to finesse – which clearly shows on the palate, although there’s still a formidable, sharp black-fruited nose piqued by soot and struck flint that commands immediate attention. Sourced from a vineyard planted at Ebenezer in 1893 on deep sand over limestone and orange/red clay, this elegant wine spends 15 months on both old and new French oak. It opens to luscious red fruit that slides easily and gently over a luxurious, long palate before closing discretely with the tapering of fine-grained tannins. Exciting now, it will reveal even more excitement after more than five years in the cellar.

Ken Gargett

Ken Gargett

Wine Pilot 95 Points

An opaque maroon colour, this is big, bold and plush, dense but dancing. There are notes of mocha, chocolate, mulberries and plums. The oak has been deftly handled. There is good intensity, richness and ripeness, which runs the full, very extensive, length. Satiny tannins, good energy and fine acidity all present and correct. Enjoy this for the next fifteen years.

97 Points - "Winemaker Alex Head says this single-block expression is his homage to finesse – which clearly shows on the palate, although there’s still a formidable, sharp black-fruited nose piqued by soot and struck flint that commands immediate attention. Sourced from a vineyard planted at Ebenezer in 1893 on deep sand over limestone and orange/red clay, this elegant wine spends 15 months on both old and new French oak. It opens to luscious red fruit that slides easily and gently over a luxurious, long palate before closing discretely with the tapering of fine-grained tannins. Exciting now, it will reveal even more excitement after more than five years in the cellar." - David Sly (Decanter Magazine)

95 points - "A vibrantly coloured and downright delicious '23 shiraz from Alex Head. Rich, nicely poised satsuma plum, mulberry and boysenberry fruits are cut with hints of spice, pastis, panforte, olive tapenade, wood spice and dark chocolate. It sports an intriguing crushed rockiness that I love. The balance is bang on here, with a kinetic interplay of ripe fruit, limestone-borne mineral cadence and toothsome tannin presence. The wine feels pure and travels freely over the palate with impressive energy. She's good drinking this one, and should cellar nicely to boot." - Dave Brookes (Halliday Wine Companion)

95 Points - "This is a great drink from Head Wines. It's not the broad and bulky Barossa Shiraz that some may assume. There is a prettiness and fleet-footedness as it dances through the palate. 'The Blonde' is derived from the limestone soils on which these vines are grown. Dive into a pool of baked red plum skins, dark cherries, red currants and mulberries. A minerally impact makes itself known and tucks behind a host of savoury highlights. Mocha, char, dried herbs, beef stock and dark chocolate all peel off with ease yet work in unison demonstrating an even flow. The persistent and superfine finish caps things off perfectly. I just want to drink it. Simple! And if that's the sign of a great wine, rush at this. Drink to eight years+." - Steve Leszsynski (Q Wine Reviews)

95 Points - "An opaque maroon colour, this is big, bold and plush, dense but dancing. There are notes of mocha, chocolate, mulberries and plums. The oak has been deftly handled. There is good intensity, richness and ripeness, which runs the full, very extensive, length. Satiny tannins, good energy and fine acidity all present and correct. Enjoy this for the next fifteen years." - Ken Gargett (Wine Pilot)

Head Wines now works with a diverse range of up to 20 different Shiraz vineyards in the Barossa and Eden Valleys. To be considered part of ‘The Blonde’ a vineyard must perform amongst the few top vineyards each year and have well-defined perfumes, textures and supple tannins. For 2023, ‘The Blonde’ came from the Riebke Old Vineyard in Ebenezer on white/yellow sand over sandstone, fossilized limestone & deep red/orange clays. The Shiraz was planted in circa 1893 on an east facing slope protected from the afternoon sun. 47 dozen produced,

Price Bracket $51 to $100
Type Red
Body Full Bodied
Variety Shiraz
Country Australia
Region Barossa Valley
Australian State SA
Reviewed By Decanter
Critic Score 97
Size 750ml
Vintage 2023
Closure Screw Cap

Head Wines

Alex Head has had what you might call a meteoric rise through the Australian wine industry. In his short career as a producer he has been heralded as one of the best Young Gun Winemakers, not only in the Barossa but the whole country.

With no formal training as a winemaker, the purity and balance inherent in the wines are amazing.

Alex has a passion for the old vineyards that populate the Barossa. With a keen eye for a good site, Alex has put together a formidable portfolio of vineyards which produce simply outstanding renditions of Shiraz and Grenache year-in, year-out. These are some of the most exciting wines in the Barossa.

Alex in the vines Barossa Valley, SA Head Wines

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