Heirloom Vineyards, McLaren Vale (South Australia) Shiraz 2021

 Heirloom has two very interesting renditions of the same variety in current release, this burly Shiraz from McLaren Vale and a tauter Syrah from the cooler Adelaide Hills.  The pair offer an instructive primer on the starkly differing shades that this great variety can show from two Aussie sites separated only a short drive.  This Shiraz is very deeply colored and commensurately deep in flavor.  Although there are no surprises in these respects, the wine provides special interest in its immaculate purity of fruit, with a low oak load and an absence of eucalyptus notes leaving it with a straightforward — but not simple — character marked by great linear intensity.  This has a tightly coiled profile that will permit many years of positive development, but it also offers immediate enjoyability with robust foods.