2022 Nicks Secret CRAY Cabernet Shiraz

From what is arguably considered to be Wrattonbully’s best producer, this Nicks Secret offering is a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon and 43% Shiraz matured in old French oak barriques and foudres for a period of 14 months. 2022 was a mild vintage and provided the perfect slow ripening framework for Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz in Wrattonbully.

A classic Australian blend showing a Bordeaux like structure and elegance.

Totally opaque black dark red core with a dark red hue. Elevated aromas of blackcurrant and liquorice mix with mulberry, tobacco, dried herb, earthy black olive and spicy cedar notes. Mid weighted and refined yet generously endowed with blackcurrant, mulberry and more subtle red liquorice fruit, the palate possesses both elegance and ample freshness. Dusty cedar, dried herb, earth, black olive and spice characters also chime in to lend further interest. Fine grained, yet quite sturdy tannins. Excellent length concluding long and spicy with a Bordeaux like finesse.
Drink over the next 5-6 years.
Alc. 14.5%

Other Reviews…..
57/43% cabernet sauvignon/shiraz. Matured in French oak barrels and foudres for 14 months. Raspberry gel, pomegranate juice and morello cherries in syrup. Blackberry wine gums, sage and thyme. This really encompasses the claret style, the ease of drinking and the ability to please an array of palates. Still knitting together, this wine will cellar very well, as it opens like a flower in slow motion. Tannins are lacy and fine with peaks of acidity dotted throughout the palate. Cinnamon, cumin and mace spice to finish. Drink by 2034.
95 points
Shanteh Wale – James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion

The cooler vintage in Wrattonbully has contributed to a stylish medium bodied wine of impeccable presentation and poise. The medium bodied fruit has been worked with only old French oak and foudres, so as not to overpower. Nice combination of black fruits with a red fruit lift in a perfumed style with deeper slightly meaty black fruit characters. The tannins are finely integrated in this wine of great poise that will continue to evolve with extended cellaring. Drink 2024-2039.
96 points
Ray Jordan – WinePilot.com

Time and time again, it is the tannin profile in fruit off the ***** Vineyard in Wrattonbully – with soils and geology dating back 35 million years – that both delights and, occasionally, astounds. Tannins – invariably naturally integrated – help so much to give the wines a sense of place and presence, but always remain a bit of a background note for both drinkers and critics, alike. That, in itself, says a lot. So, take it as read, that the tannin profile adds that X Factor to this wine (and its score). Cabernet Sauvignon (57%) and Shiraz (43%) go head to head and it makes for something a little savoury, a little minerally, a little earthy and generous in flavour. Dark fruited, spice-fuelled with chocolate and notes of earth and leather roll across the tongue effortlessly. It’s both warm and friendly but also structured. Those tannins together with the grapes’ natural acidity – the springs and gears of the wine – looking good. Shines bright now, but neither will it dim over the next 10 years or more. Drink 2024-2036.
95 points
Jeni Port – WinePilot.com

A classic Australian claret Wrattonbully style and this smashes the brief. Vibrant and downright delicious, this is a fabulous Cabernet Shiraz to rip into.
Scents of pan juices, mushroom broth and dried violets light things up before a swathe of energetic blackberries and black currants rise up. Subtle earthiness, red cherries and dark chocolate aren't far from the action and do their best to steal the limelight. Some savoury delights come in the form of dried sage and dried thyme with fine pillows of grainy and dusty tannins. The structure and shape are most impressive but what strikes me is its detail and presence, and even after a few days of tasting, it presented an attractive glossy sheen. Glorious!
Drink to eight years.
95 points
QWineReviews.com

This wine is both stern and flushed with fruit. You could call it impeccable and be done with it. Blackcurrant, gravel, mint and char notes are served both tannic and creamy, with subtle tobacco notes rising from the wine as it breathes. There’s no real flamboyance here – it is of course still young – but everything about this wine hovers around gold medal standard. Drink 2026-2034+
93+ points
Campbell Mattinson – The Wine Front