Dalwhinnie The Eagle Shiraz 2000

"The Dalwhinnie 'Eagle Series' vineyard was first planted to Shiraz in 1977. The single vineyard is 1.21 hectares in size with the vines planted on a relatively wide 3.4 x 1.80 metre grid. The vines are dry grown on ancient sedimentary soils and bony quartz-shale outcrops. The unique aspect of this elevated vineyard coupled with meticulous viticulture produces the most provocative grapes on the property." David Jones

"The palate is explosively intense with the same pepper and cinnamon spice and complex black and red berry fruits. Incredibly long, with great acid and excellent fine tannins. Simultaneously smooth, tight, grippy, silky and firm. Elegantly opulent. Seamlessly complex. Relentlessly persistent. Powerfully refined."  Tyson Stelzer 

"The 'Eagle Series' Shiraz has been made using traditional Burgundy winemaking techniques incorporating foot crushing, whole bunch fermentation, extended skin contact and maximum lees contact. The wine is a super concentration of unique aromas and flavours only achieved using these non-conventional winemaking techniques. After two years in small French oak barriques the 'Eagle Series' has picked up many complex fine tannins integrated with superb Dalwhinnie hand picked fruit.

Very dark purple-red; on the nose alluring lifted plum and prune fruits combine with savoury smoky delicatessen aromas and exotic spices; a very intriguing wine on the palate - the fruit dances on the palate displaying fresh mature Shiraz fruit, very fine tannins and a dry beautifully balanced finish. The wine is extremely elegant."  David Jones, Winemaker

Expert reviews

"On opening the wine, I poured it into a decanter intending to leave it to open up for a few hours. After taking one whiff I whacked it straight back into the bottle, ramming the cork fully back in to keep the thing in there. This is a dark purple-red, massively concentrated shiraz that looms out of the glass. The nose exudes huge spice, white pepper, and ripe but not sweet cherry/plum/berry fruit with hints of smoky oak. The palate is explosively intense with the same pepper and cinnamon spice and complex black and red berry fruits. Incredibly long, with great acid and excellent fine tannins. Simultaneously smooth, tight, grippy, silky and firm. Elegantly opulent. Seamlessly complex. Relentlessly persistent. Powerfully refined."  Tyson Stelzer, Winefront Monthly - 97 points

"Its complex, herbal aromas of meaty, peppery and rather gamey small black and red berry fruits reveal a dusty, stalky background that continues throughout its firm and drying palate, but which should evolve with time towards more smoky, cedary characters. It's forward and succulent, with intense flavours of mulberries and cassis, before finishing slightly herbal and astringent."  Jeremy Oliver - 95 points

"If you're expecting a blockbuster you ain't going to find it here, but in terms of lingering, sumptuous, highly-structured shiraz this really is the goods – and enormously different to the standard release. Soy, cloves, black cherry and blood plum fragrances – and a tiny pour of funk – sweep into a palate that grows on you the more you taste it. It's true to the nose and adds silky, superfine tannins to the mix – though length-wise it probably could be longer. Potentially a grand wine of distinction."  Campbell Mattinson, Winefront Monthly - 95 points

"Medium to full red-purple; a dense and complex bouquet with spicy, savoury edges to the array of dark fruits; a powerful, savoury palate with blackberry fruit, and fine, lingering, squeaky tannins."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 94 points

About the winery

Dalwhinnie, located near the small village of Moonambel in the heart of the Pyrenees region of western Victoria, is one of Victoria's oldest family-run vineyards. Dalwhinnie has been growing grapes for nearly 50 years and the 16-hectare vineyard is now fully mature.

Ballarat architect Ewan Jones purchased the site in 1973 and named it after the Highlands town of his Scottish ancestors. He established the vineyard in 1976 and his eldest son, David, took over its management seven years later. David subsequently purchased the property in 1994 and operated Dalwhinnie until January 2020, when it was acquired by Fogarty Wine Group.

At 595 metres above sea level, Dalwhinnie is the highest and most remote of the Pyrenees district vineyards. The vineyard is located in a naturally undulating trough which falls away from the hills, forming an amphitheatre nestled into the ranges. According to David Jones, the hills and the sedimentary soils of the Pyrenees are vital factors in the vineyard's uniqueness.

The main grape varieties grown are Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. These small individual vineyards average around 1.8 hectares in size and because of the hungry sedimentary soils, cropping levels are low - only 1.5 tonnes per 0.8 of a hectare.

The site is totally frost-free which enables the grapes to reach optimum ripeness. The vineyard is non-irrigated and operated on strong organic viticultural principles. The fruit is hand-picked and the vines are cane-pruned by hand. Harvest usually starts the third week in February and is completed around the first week in April. Cover crops are sown every year between the vineyard rows to add nitrogen to the soil. The average annual rainfall is 550mm with most rain falling between July and November.

"In Dalwhinnie, the Joneses have happened upon that rare but blessed confluence of factors: site, soil, climate, cultivars, viticultural practices and sensitive winemaking. Sit back and watch, as Dalwhinnie etches a name for itself, not only among the great wines of Australia, but the world."  Huon Hooke