Finely crafted and harmoniously balanced, with a juicy presence of blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, cassis and dark plums tightly knit with sweet, gamey chocolate-like oak and underpinned by fine, crunchy tannin. It's spicy and aromatic, laced throughout by nuances of cloves and cinnamon. Long and vibrant, it finishes with lingering dark fruits and a bright acidity. 94 points; Jeremy Oliver

It pumps out sweet dark fruit backed with liberal toasty oak which, it must be said, smells alarmingly like a meat lovers pizza replete with BBQ sauce. There’s a menthol and floral perfume floating above it all too. In the mouth full bodied and dramatic with lashings of sweet black and red fruit, spicy clove and toast oak, aniseed and some more earthy flavours - almost overbearing in the amount of sweet (fruit) and savoury (oak) flavour it delivers. There’s also smooth ultra-fine grained (but firm) tannin, good freshness and excellent length of flavour. 94 points; Gary Walsh, The Wine Front

Old Block is delving into earthy, tarry blackberry country – a classic Barossa shiraz with some nutty oak influence edging across the nose. On the one hand there’s a deep anchor of fruit through the base, and on the other sits fragrant lift. Plum fruits linger through the finish, ripe, juicy and promising to deliver handsomely with time in the cellar. 93 Points; Nick Stock - Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide 2009 - November 2008.