Beautifully crafted and delineated cassis fruit, framed by gently toasty oak and some floral notes; the palate is rich, deep, fine and very long; the brightness of fruit at the core is the essence of this wine. Drink 2030 $90 Date Tasted Mar 08 Rating: 96 Points; James Halliday Wine Companion 2009

2008 - Winery of the Year - James Halliday

I tasted this alongside the 2005 John Riddoch and 2004 Brands Laira “The Patron” and it was clear from the first sniff and slurp of “The Tally” that this was a youthful, dense and forbidding wine, so the cork went straight back in and the wine was left until the next day. A reverse application of the “Method Audouze” if you like. A huge wine flooded with Cassis, blackberry and raspberry fruit, a liberal application of complex oak offering toast, cedar, spice, nougat and play-doh with additional characters of black liquorice, mint and a few violets just poking their heads above the surface. It’s full bodied with enormous extract and flavour, dense and brooding with a big spread of chalky tannin and extreme length of flavour. A powerhouse that needs at least a decade of cellaring. Rated : 95 Points; Price : $90; Drink : 2018 - 2030; Gary Walsh; Winorama

Balnaves of Coonawarra The Tally 2006 ($95) Procork: This doesn't have the guts of the 2005 but there's still a good deal of glory. It's a wine that creeps up on you - I thought maybe it was a touch lacking at first but the more and longer I sat with it, the more bewitched I became. It's seamless and sustained, its flavours of mint, cedarwood, blackcurrant, dust and mulberry presented in a bright, juicy, elegant form. It should cellar beautifully. Drink: 2012-2018. 94 points. Campbell Mattinson; The Wine Front

From the best portions of two estate vineyards, and given 20 months maturation in new French oak. Beautifully delineated cassis fruit is framed by gently toasty oak and some floral notes; the palate is rich, deep, fine and very long; the brightness of fruit at the core is the essence of this wine, as is its harmony and balance. From Coonawarra, SA, $95, PC, 15% alc Drink 2011-2021 with slow-cooked lamb shanks.