Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz 1996

Fox Creek Wines was established in 1984 when Helen and Dr Jim Watts purchased a 32 hectare property on Malpas Road in McLaren Vale. The Reserve Shiraz is their flagship and most celebrated wine. The first vintage, made in 1994, won the Trophy for the best wine at the McLaren Vale Wine Show. The Reserve is a veritable powerhouse with amazing depth and richness. Flavours of blackberry, cassis, liquorice and dark chocolate abound in a palate of power, intensity and length. Can be enjoyed in its youth or cellared long term.

"I was very impressed with this wine. Typical of many of the great red wines represented by Dan Phillips, it boasts an opaque purple color, followed by spectacular aromatics and viscous, chewy-textured, full-bodied, highly-endowed flavors that coat the palate with glycerin, extract, and alcohol. This superb, extremely concentrated, blockbuster Shiraz should drink well for 15-20 years."  Robert Parker

"The first thing that is evident about this, and previous vintages of this wine is the characteristic "black" colour. The special trellising of the Shiraz vines allows the ripening grapes to be fully exposed to the sun, maximising the colour and flavour of the wine.The aroma is a complex and intense, rich array of plum, dark chocolate, mocha and spicy new American oak. The wine is big, bold and beautiful. The intensity of the aroma follows through to the palate showing rich chocolate spiciness with fully integrated and well balanced oak flavours. This wine has extreme length of flavour and finishes with tannins of remarkable softness, considering the age of the wine."  Fox Creek

Expert reviews

"As my point score suggests, I was very impressed with this wine. Only the third vintage of this wine, it is made from 14-year old vines that average 3 tons of fruit per acre. I am pleased to report that 2,000 cases were produced. Typical of many of the great red wines represented by Dan Phillips, it boasts an opaque purple color, followed by spectacular aromatics (cassis, pepper, blackberry jam, and tar), and viscous, chewy-textured, full-bodied, highly-endowed flavors that coat the palate with glycerin, extract, and alcohol (14.5%). This superb, extremely concentrated, blockbuster Shiraz should drink well for 15-20 years. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2018."  Robert Parker, Wine Advocate - 95 points

"Strong red-purple; there is masses of powerful, earthy shiraz on the bouquet and a mix of mint, black cherry and earthy varietal fruit on the palate, supported by strong tannins. The oak influence is subtle. Drink Now to 2010."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 95 points

Jeremy Oliver - 95 points (No review available)

"Both the nose and palate show masses of concentrated black cherry and blue-black-mulberry that comes within a whisker of being porty. Enormously fleshy and opulent, yet despite its sybaritic stature it is perfectly balanced by a swathe of powdery tannins and piercing, spicy acidity that greatly extends the long, clean finish. This wine really pushes the envelope in terms of magnitude, yet it manages to maintain a wonderful sense of vinosity… seemingly with little effort. A twenty year cellaring proposition that can easily be drunk now."  Andrew Wood - Divine Magazine, March 2004

About the winery

Fox Creek Wines is a winery located in the McLaren Vale region of South Australia. McLaren Vale is a highly regarded wine region known for its rich history, Mediterranean climate, and abundant sunshine, which provide ideal growing conditions for a wide variety of grapes.

Fox Creek Wines was established in 1984 when Helen and Dr Jim Watts purchased a 32 hectare property on Malpas Road in McLaren Vale. Going against popular advise at the time, they planted vines in the black clay soils that had previously been used for growing barley. A decade later their flagship shiraz won the Trophy for the best wine at the McLaren Vale Wine Show.  They won this award again in 1998 and 2003 and their Reserve Shiraz achieved international acclaim. Subsequently many of their wines have won trophies and medals at national and international wine shows.

Early in 2021 Helen Watts (at the tender age of 86) sold Fox Creek Wines to Ben Gibson, Jock Harvey and Dim Georgiadis, who are long-time friends and industry colleagues. The winemaker is Ben Tanzer.