Angel Gully Cellaring Guide
Clarendon’s cooler climate provides the perfect growing conditions for our JOSEPH Angel Gully Shiraz.
For more than 30 years we have loved growing Shiraz on rocky sites with shallow soils.
Made to be delicious on release but will age for a long time in the cellar, here are my recommendations for the best times to enjoy each vintage.
Matteo Grilli, Winemaker
2021 – A beautifully balanced vintage with mulberry, violet, and dark cocoa aromas. The palate is silky yet structured, with vibrant fruit carrying through a long finish. Drinking superbly now, but built to reward 10–15 years in the cellar.
2020 – From a warm, low-yielding year comes a powerful wine brimming with ripe plum, blackberry compote, and mocha. Dense and opulent, perfect with rich roasts, it will evolve gracefully for another 8–12 years.
2018 – Beginning to show its secondary complexity, with dried fig, spice, and leather layered over dark fruit. A firm backbone and savoury length make it impressive now, with peak drinking through 2030 and beyond.
2017 – A cooler season has given lifted aromas of red plum, pepper, and florals. Medium-bodied with bright acidity and fine tannins, it is drinking elegantly now and will remain graceful for another 5–8 years.
2016 – At nine years old, the wine has developed savoury notes of potpourri, dried herbs, and mushroom, softened by mellow tannins. Enjoyable now with veal or lamb, and best consumed over the next 5 years.
2013 – At peak maturity, showing stewed plum, cedar spice, and a rich thread of dark chocolate alongside hints of orange rind. Silky and complex, it is superb now with braised meats and will hold for a few more years.
2011 – A challenging year has produced a savoury, autumnal Shiraz with leather, cranberry, and earthy mushroom notes. Best opened now alongside game or rustic fare.
2009 – Fully mature and soulful, showing prune, raisin, dark chocolate, and tobacco. Smooth and mellow on the palate, this vintage is ready to be enjoyed today while at its best.
Tasting underway! The scene from my kitchen table.