2023 Head Wines The Blonde Shiraz

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)