John Duval Wines, Entity, Barossa Valley

Wow. A cracker. After 22 yrs this has still got a lot going on! Notes of blackberry oak plum vanilla pepper black fruit leather dark fruit black cherry licorice smoke cedar earthy tobacco jam cassis cigar fig molasses sweet tobacco. Concentrated flavours but not over the top. I loved it!:) solid 95 points for me 🙏

2004 vintage

Wow. A cracker. After 25 yrs this has still got a lot going on! Notes of blackberry oak plum vanilla pepper black fruit leather dark fruit black cherry licorice smoke cedar earthy tobacco jam cassis cigar fig molasses sweet tobacco. Concentrated flavours but not over the top. I loved it!:) solid 95 points for me 🙏

2004 vintage

Aerated into a decanter. Pours bright ruby-violet without sediment. Generous nose of red berries, purple fruit, pine pitch, a little alcohol, and brown sugar bbq rub. Enters with warm red berry fruits and blueberry-thyme jelly flavors. Medium acid, fine medium- tannins. Deepens to roasted blue and purple fruits on the mid before inflecting to high-toned sweet red berries on the medium-length finish. Surprising bright red fruits on the finish are discordant with the savory and well-developed profile if the wine. …

2022 vintage

Sweet, punchy red fruits. This Shiraz is still very young, but has the body to develop over a number of years. I’m looking forward to trying it after being open for a day.

2022 vintage

Restaurant by the bottle. Needs time. By the second hour it opened up and showed better. A little hot and disjointed to begin. Ended up showing blackberries and dark fruits against a hint of baking spice and clove. Don’t rush these.

2022 vintage

For someone who is used to drinking Cabs, this was a nice alternative. Strong on Dark red fruit. Prominent tannins that softened quickly. Great with tenderloin.

2022 vintage

In-store tasting. Have read 2021 is an exceptional vintage in these parts. This is textbook Barossa shiraz done right: ripe and powerful but nicely balanced with nothing in excess. 75% Barossa, 25% Eden Valley, matured 15 months in 300L French hogsheads (only 25% new) and larger puncheons. Smells of violets, tastes of ripe warm (not cooked) blueberry and raspberry, not sensing much oak. Enough acidity to keep it fresh and mouthwatering (pH is 3.5). Smooth tannins.

2021 vintage

i liked it, but i definitely need food with it plummy, licorice, smoke, blackberry, leather. nice acidity, manageable tannins, great finish. id prefer if it were more lean, but i believe this bottle was not made for me which is fine. it does a great job at what it's trying to accomplish would like to try this with age. great with lamb

2021 vintage

Very solid for the price. Classic aromas of macerated dark fruit, fig jam, barrel spice, eucalyptus, and a touch of black pepper. It’s med+ body, med acid, and med- tannin. Fairly easygoing on the palate with a decent finish. Classic Aussie for a great price. Not outstanding, but very enjoyable.

2021 vintage

Tasted as part of WSET Diploma study. I found this disappointing. The fruit concentration was sufficient to balance the high alcohol and there was a complex range of aromas (violet, raspberry, black cherry, black liquorice, charred wood, meat), but I found the aromas rather indistinct and muddled. The fruit on the finish quickly dissolved into hot alcohol. Maybe it was just my bottle, but I would not expect this to age well--it's already on the verge of imbalance, and the …

2021 vintage

Never really opened away from the tannins and we left some for day 2. Went OK with Chile.

2021 vintage

Balanced and intense nose of ripe black plums, star anise, clove and toasted cocoa. Palate is rich but fresh at entry, transiting to a full-bodied structure which is rounded and transparent. Unlike many Barossa Shiraz, this has good degree of elegance and restraint to prevent it from being over the top ripeness and in your face bold presentation. Finish is spicy and plummy. Ready to drink now with some breathing, will continue to provide good drinking window till 2030. Good …

2021 vintage

WSET iii - Class Wines; 10/19/2024-12/14/2024 : [tasted blind] APPEARANCE: deep ruby NOSE: pronounced intensity; developing Aromas: violet, cooked red plum, blueberry, blackberry, black plum, cooked fruit, jamminess, vanilla, toast, smoke PALATE: dry; acidity: medium; intensity: medium (+); body: full; alcohol: high; tannins medium (+); finish: long Flavours: [ripe, somewhat cooked fruit with ripe tannins]; red plum, blueberry, blackberry, black plum, jamminess, vanilla, toast, smoke CONCLUSIONS: Quality: very good / outstanding Readiness: can drink now, but has potential for ageing

2021 vintage

Right on top of earlier bottles. In an earlier tasting note I said I seemed to be having a better experience with this wine than is the case with other cellartracker.com tasters. It now looks like a lot of the other reviews are similar to mine.

2021 vintage

4th Saturday Brown Bagger (V&M's) : Double blind. Opaque inky color. Opens with aromas of violets, florals, currants and mulberry. Flavors of black raspberry, cherry and plum. There's a sweet quality to the fruit, in a good way. Finishes with good length. Excellent. With time in the glass this developed a dominant minty/herbaceous aroma that led me to guess Aussie syrah. (R&S)

2021 vintage

I seem to be having a better experience with this wine than is the case with other cellartracker.com tasters. It is a classic deep/dark Shiraz with a lot going on.

2021 vintage

The last couple of reviews were spot on. Lots of fruity goodness but missing some of the smokey/meaty notes I like in a Syrah. Nice QPR. 4.2 stars

2021 vintage

John Duval 2021 Entity Shiraz Layers of dark cherries, plum, and violets, enriched with subtle notes of game, spices, and blueberries. On the palate deep flavors of blackberries, dark plums, and black cherry, intricately laced with spices, pepper, and delicate hints of oak and vanilla. Pairs With: Grilled steaks, stews, and other hearty dishes Structure: Acidity: High Body: Full Tannins: Firm Vino-Rater Score: 93

2021 vintage

Intense showing blackberry, spice, plum and a hint of vanilla. Full bodied, bright acidity and fine grained tannins. Still needs some more years in the cellar, well done anyhow. NI:3, FI:22, FC:8, B:3, L:4

2021 vintage

Drinking very well. I'm mainly a Pinot Noir person but still enjoyed this Shiraz very much.

2021 vintage

Wasn’t drinking as good as the last bottle for some reason.

2021 vintage

Australia Trade Tasting (Lindley Hall, Royal Horticultural Halls) : Thick bold black fruit flavors, a touch smoky, full red and black fruit, palate is juicy, ripe red fruit, spice frame, tight tannins, long finish

2021 vintage

Like previous bottles. A solid effort......like is the case with most John Duval wines.

2021 vintage

This bottle was a little better than prior bottles. I sensed it would improve, and it did. In a great drinking window. Classic Shiraz.

2021 vintage

Maintains a deep purple color - surprisingly no brick. Dark fruit on the nose and palate with smoke and oak on the palate. A hint of spice and game on the finnish. Does not have the power it had as it is well past it's prime drinking interval but still very enjoyable.

2005 vintage

Soil, vanilla, spice Did I mention vanilla? This is a very loud wine, but it would be an excellent accompaniment with the right food.

2021 vintage

Powerful! I thought I would try it before dinner, and it was overwhelming. This wine is not elegant... it is like a steam locomotive. This need food. A little argon in the bottle and into the fridge. 3rd night, I drank it with grilled Korean short ribs, and it was great. This wine requires BBQ, grilled, or roasted meat with some fat content. I like it, but will refrain from drinking it without the right food.

2021 vintage

Drinking very well right now.

2021 vintage

As I hoped and noted in an earlier tasting note, this wine has edged up in terms of the drinking experience in produces. The bottle was open for an hour and a half before dinner. I sense it might improve again.

2021 vintage

Delicious, gorgeous red fruit nose. Would buy again.

2021 vintage

Moncur Syrah/Shiraz (Bistro Moncur, Sydney) : Slightly raisined black berry fruit, touch of sweet spice, cream. Juicy, black hued fruits, raisins, alcohol warmth, talc textured persistent woody tannins dry out the back palate. Meh.

2021 vintage

{cork, 14.5%} Still impenetrable in hue, but with an orange tint at the rim. Malt aromas, sweet jam, black in character, with a hint of blueberry. Palate is quite mature, smooth, almost slippery, with resolved powdery tannins and low/medium acid. It’s medium/full in weight, considering its age, with aging jammy notes. Tending to warmth on the palate, before a slightly patchy medium length finish, rich with leathery maturity. With the caveat of auction provenance, it’s probably on the downslope on …

2005 vintage

Excellent Shiraz, fait à partir de raisins de différentes parcelles de Barossa, beau résultat, fruits bleus et noirs, notes de réglisse noire portant sur le chocolat/cacao. $55/bouteille, dégusté sur place aux Artisans of Barossa.

2021 vintage

Fruit gone but still very nice . A little white pepper and secondary characteristics

2005 vintage

Elite Barossa valley Shiraz, however showing its maturity at 16 years old. Very linear in tasting profile, harmonious and balanced dark fruit, medium acid, drying notes of white pepper and warm spice. Really elegant and well made wine but it is lacking power. Probably 94 at its apogee but is fading yet still enjoyable.

2005 vintage

The first vintage ever of this wine. The purchased fruit is sourced from multiple old vineyards in Barossa valley. Fermented in old open-top oak fermentors and stainless steel tanks with a submerged cap. Aged in new (47%) and once, twice or three times used (53%) French oak barriques. 14,5% alcohol, 5,7 g/l acidity and pH 3,55. Moderately deep, luminous and quite translucent black cherry color with an evolved maroon hue. Clean, fragrant and still relatively youthful nose with aromas of …

2004 vintage

As smooth and elegant as this wine could possibly be. Exquisite.

2005 vintage

On opening it tasted of red fruits and seemed to have disconcertingly high acidity. Tasted two hours later with barbecued Ibérico pork, it was the perfect match, with darker red fruits and a little chocolate coffee. I would recommend drinking up any remaining bottles as I don’t see it going anywhere from here...

2004 vintage

Mild red fruit and medium body.

2004 vintage

Given the drinking window of the critics, this was PnP'd on a Sunday evening with chilli which was a gross dis-service to this wine! Bought this back in 2007 and it's been lost in the wine fridge ever since, but I'm glad it was as this is in a really lovely place at the moment. The wine is still showing few signs of age visually, being a deep purple colour and only very mild bricking on the rim. Primarily black …

2005 vintage

Still fruity, but definitely near the end of its life. Needs almost 2 hours to open after decanting to get rid of the excess alcohol in the taste.

2004 vintage

Love this wine! Dark and opaque color with a beautiful nose of deep black fruits, mineral earth, white pepper, nutmeg, and an earthy-but-sweet curry. Palate is mouth coating in a creamy way that's just pleasurable and hedonistic, and, dominated by black fruits, plums, espresso, dark chocolate, and sweet spices. Nice acidity and very fine rustic tannins round out the enjoyment.

2005 vintage

Powerful, masculine wine, oodles of jammy red fruits; damsons peppered with star anise to the fore. This teenager is full bodied and very long. The alcohol is high for me at 14.5%, stylistically I prefer my reds about 2% lower for all sorts of reasons but that said, it’s a well made wine created for the long haul and I think it will still be enjoyable for another 5 years, with the leather and tobacco nuances gaining further ground as …

2005 vintage

Full bodied. Bouquet of berries and pepper. First taste was a little overwhelmed by the fruit upfront. After 30 min, the wine as softened to a well rounded Shiraz.

2005 vintage

A beautifully crafted glossy, spicy, sweet, smooth shiraz that just gives a huge amount of (relatively) easy-drinking pleasure with gobs of dark fruit finishing off with a touch of vanilla spice. Perfect with a steak.

2005 vintage

Drink up.

2004 vintage

Definitely fresher than the last bottle. Drunk with slow cooked pork belly it cut through the fattiness and matched really well with the subtle Asian spicing. Lovely clean finish. Delicious.

2005 vintage

Absolutely wonderful bottle. Again, as one relatively new to wine, I was really surprised to notice that in 2 hours, this wine evolved from a fresh, complex, very enjoyable glass of wine, to meh. We decanted for just about 15 minutes due to a misjudgment about length of meal prep and we were glad we did. In the glass this was deep garnet colored with no bricking, even at the rim. This wine presented moderate intensity aroma's showing some age, …

2005 vintage

From the start this comes across as a beautifully crafted wine. Dark fruits overlaid with vanilla, this is still quite young, and the dregs drank beautifully on the second day. Long, nicely balanced, it wears its alcohol well and never seems over-extracted. Try again in a couple of years, or drink now. I suspect it will be delicious for a while yet...

2004 vintage

First things first, I am not generally in favor of non-fortified wines that clock in at 14.5% ABV. But 2004 Entity is awfully tender for a high alcohol wine. Chocolate covered raspberries, subtle spice and a highly polished silky texture. Really, this is incredible wine at this price.

2004 vintage

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John Duval Wines, Entity, Barossa Valley

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