Jane Faulkner
No winemaking details, so not sure what differentiates the reserve from its sibling, straight shiraz, aside from a heavier bottle and certainly oak as this is dripping with cedary, sweet wood, and it's dominating (back label states aged 18 months in French oak, but percentage of new not known). Yet the fruit within is very good, dark, spiced plums, ironstone and aniseed, a hint of pepper. The full-bodied palate comes coated with ripe, plush tannins, fresh acidity, then the sweet oak comes whooshing through. Points: 92/100