Sami-Odi is a small winery in the Barossa Valley producing the smallest about of Syrah at the highest quality by winemaker Fraser McKinley. Grapes come from separate selected pots across the Barossa using organic principles and sometimes blending across barrels, sites, and vintages.

A black, dense and dark core, inky and rich but with amaro-laced features, dark cherry, cola, peppermint notes, fennel and salted liquorice with a fine dusting of sooty, woody spice. Succulent in texture, richness here with light, palate staining qualities but a vivid sense of freshness and poise. Some earthiness, but sweet, a slick of salinity also slips in, perhaps the quibble of the season. Formidable wine, deep, potent, and yet somehow driving and energetic. Wonderful drinking, a bolder, denser strike. Date: Jan 2025; Alcohol: 14.4%; Closure: Cork; Drink: 2026-2035+; Rated: 94+ Points; Mike Bennie; The Wine Front

Aromatic, aniseed, blackberry, slight salty Dutch liquorice thing, spice and tea. Blue and black fruit, cool acidity, a pixelated grainy grip to tannin, exotic, a light peppery thing here, meaty, with a very good finish. Excellent wine. Date: Jan 2025; Alcohol: 14.4%; Closure: Cork; Drink: 2026-2035+ Rated: 94+ Points; Gary Walsh; The Wine Front