Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz 1998

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.

"This is more like it: balanced, rich and opulently proportioned, yet shows tremendous finesse. More lively in the mouth than previous wines with a higher degree of driving, vibrant acidity. Integration of oak, tannin and fruit is flawless and it is the most complex wine to date. Focussed and very long. The consolidation of house style is unmistakable, as is the wine's brilliance. Magnificent drinking now and will continue to be so for at least another decade."  Andrew Wood

"This wine was sourced from Fox Creek's Willows Block vineyard and was matured in new American oak hogsheads for 15 months. Excellent vineyard management and low yields have resulted in a wine of outstanding concentration.Deep red/black colour with crimson edges. The nose displays aromas of blackberry, liquorice, plum, anise and mulberry fruit with well integrated spicy oak. The palate is super concentrated with rich berry fruit flavours complexed with nutmeg, vanilla and liquorice which is supported with balanced acid and a firm tannin structure. Excellent depth of flavour and very long aftertaste."  Fox Creek

Expert reviews

"Nearly perfect, the opaque black/purple-colored 1998 Shiraz Reserve (2,300 cases) plays to the great strength of Australia -- powerful, naturally-textured, super-rich wines that are big and chewy. Exceptionally rich and explosive, with great purity as well as remarkable symmetry and overall balance for such massiveness, this blockbuster can be drunk now or cellared for 12-15 years. Make no doubt about it, this Shiraz will elicit more than a few "wows" in any tasting - blind or otherwise. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2015."  Robert Parker, Wine Advocate - 98 points

"This is more like it: balanced, rich and opulently proportioned, yet shows tremendous finesse. More lively in the mouth than previous wines with a higher degree of driving, vibrant acidity. Integration of oak, tannin and fruit is flawless and it is the most complex wine to date. Focussed and very long. The consolidation of house style is unmistakable, as is the wine's brilliance. Magnificent drinking now and will continue to be so for at least another decade."  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.