Glaetzer Amon-Ra Barossa Shiraz 2020

Matthew Jukes Top 100 Australian Wines of 2022/2023

Glaetzer Amon-Ra is a benchmark Barossa Valley shiraz made by master winemaker Ben Glaetzer. Fruit is sourced from exceptional old vines in the famed Ebenezer sub-region in the northern part of the Barossa Valley. Vine age varies from 35 years to over 130 years of age. Amon-Ra is Glaetzer's flagship wine and in addition to being a shiraz of monumental proportions, it displays a freshness and purity of fruit that are the hallmarks of Ben Glaetzer's wines.

"This year's Amon-Ra is concentrated, dense and absolutely, utterly saturated with flavour. The fruit that spirals within the bounds of the firm tannins is fleshy and pure, and with the knowledge that the wine sails through the decade with noiseless grace, it is all the more impressive in its infancy now. A brilliant wine - all ductile and proud. Yes."  Erin Larkin

Fermented in 1 and 2 tonne open fermenters, hand plunged 3 times daily. Matured for 16 months in 100% new oak hogshead barrels (95% French and 5% American) and matured on lees to maintain fruit profile and animation. Bottled unfiltered to ensure minimal intervention with the wine’s natural characteristics. 

"Deep purple upon release, but will evolve to a rich, dark red over time in bottle. Dark plum and blackberry notes on the nose are offset by hints of black pepper and wild forest herbs.  The palate is intense and mouth-filling with the balance, complexity and focus we have to come to expect from Amon-Ra. Powerful dark berry fruit is accented with delicate spice and herb notes. It inspires confidence in its age worthy nature. Peak Drinking: A wine that will develop beautifully with long term cellaring through to 2045."  Glaetzer Wines

Expert reviews

"I've looked at this wine many times over the years, almost exclusively as an older/cellared wine. The impact it has made is strong, and so it is through this lens that I now view this 2020 Amon Ra Shiraz. This year's Amon-Ra is concentrated, dense and absolutely, utterly saturated with flavor. The fruit that spirals within the bounds of the firm tannins is fleshy and pure, and with the knowledge that the wine sails through the decade with noiseless grace, it is all the more impressive in its infancy now. A brilliant wine—all ductile and proud. Yes. Drink from 2022-2042."  Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate - 97 points

"Velvety, deeply upholstered, exquisitely muscled and with bitter chocolate and prune notes under a blackberry coulis core, this wine is a veritable limousine of flavour that creeps across with menace and intent, leaving its mark on every single taste but its encounters."  Matthew Jukes - Top 100 Australian Wines of 2022/2023

"Opaque core into a deeply staining purple rim. Mulberry, anise, nutmeg, and coffee grounds all lift from the glass. A wine of deep power and presence, it has fruit weight loaded throughout but the savoury complexities are lifting spices that provide light to the shade. Ample grainy tannins ensure it carries very long and finishes dry. This wine will be offering pleasure for many years to come. Drink by 2035."  Stuart Knox, The Real Review - 96 points

"Always a picture of pure fruit density and latent power, the latest release of Ben Glaetzer's Amon Ra continues that theme of Barossa concentration. Glossy blackberry, black cherry and satsuma plum fruit flow readily, that compact Ebenezer power on full display. Hints of baking spice, earth, licorice and dark chocolate come into play, along with tightly packed, gypsum-like tannins for support, impressive acid cadence and a persistent and enduring exit. Always impressive. Drink by: 2035."  Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion - 96 points

"Complex aromas of blackberry, sweet green tobacco and ink well. Full-bodied, tight and focused with ultra-fine tannins that run long. Compact and integrated. Classy. Give this three to four years to soften and open. Try after 2025."  James Suckling, Jamesuckling.com - 95 points

Awards

Matthew Jukes Top 100 Australian Wines of 2022/2023

About Ben Glaetzer

"When I look at the winemaker behind some of my favourite Australian wines, the name Ben Glaetzer seems to come up frequently. He is a serious talent who has exploded on the wine scene with a brilliant array of wines."  Robert Parker

The irrepressible Ben Glaetzer is the driving force behind both Glaetzer, Heartland and Mitolo Wines. Glaetzer Wines, the sole family company, was set up by his father Colin in 1995 and makes red wines from ancient vines in the Barossa Valley. Heartland Wines, which makes less expensive wines from Langhorne Creek and Limestone Coast, was set up by Ben and fellow winemaker Scott Collett in the late 1990s. Then there’s Mitolo Wines, which focuses on McLaren Vale, which was set up in 2000 by Ben and horticulturalist Frank Mitolo.

Ben's early experience in the wine industry was working as a cellarhand at Barossa Valley Estates during school and university holidays. He originally had aspirations to be a pediatric surgeon – "I wanted to have an impact, but I didn’t want to fix sick people all the time." But the smells and sounds of the winery at vintage drew him back. "I’d been working vintages for 10 or 12 years. I came from a pretty ordinary medical lecture and walked into the winery and thought, it doesn’t get better than this." So he switched to studying winemaking at Roseworthy, Adelaide University’s agricultural college.

After graduation, Ben worked in the Hunter Valley at Tyrrell's and travelled extensively through the world’s wine regions. In 1998, he returned to the Barossa and joined his father’s business. The family’s day-to-day business is its high volume winemaking operation at the Glaetzer winery, which is able to crush 10,000 tons of grapes each vintage.  30–40% of the crush is Glaetzer/Heartland/Mitolo, the three projects that Ben puts his name to, and the balance is contract work on behalf of numerous clients. In the 2005 vintage, a staggering 1,300 different wines were made in their winery from almost 30 different grape varieties. This was a training ground for a young winemaker like no other.  

Ben took over Glaetzer in 2002. Bruce Tyrrell says, "He was always going to have his own business and label. In the winery, he had great attention to detail, and a top palate."

That palate, and his exposure to the wines of the world, has turned him away from the traditional Barossa style of his father. "I took over the family company in 2002, and the style change has been marked. The 1980s saw a burst of Chardonnays that had undergone malolactic fermentation, which were rich, full and died. People have moved on since then and in the Barossa they are now making more global wines. Winemakers have been travelling more, and are eating better food and tasting more imported wines," says Ben.

Oak use has been the biggest change. He describes the old style as, "a definitive Australian style, derived from secondary characteristics: toasty oak and vanilla. People are now being more selective about what they are using. It doesn’t matter whether it is American or French." In the winery oak is used as a structural component, not as a flavouring component.

When it comes to wine style, the Glaetzer hallmark is purity of fruit. "I'm looking for animated fruit. Wines have to stay alive. I want the fruit to smell fresh, alive and animated." His ability to blend traditional winemaking techniques with a modern flair is reflected in the style of all of his wines.

Over the years, Ben's chalked up some prestigious winemaking honours, including Behind the Label New World Winemaker of the Year 2006, Qantas Young Winemaker of the Year 2004 and Robert M. Parker Jnr’s Wine Personality of the Year 2005.

About the winery

The Glaetzer family settled in Nuriootpa in the Barossa Valley in 1888 after emigrating from Brandenburg, Germany. They were some of the earliest recorded viticulturalists in the Barossa Valley. Over a century later, in 1995, winemaking patriarch Colin Glaetzer established Glaetzer Wines.

Colin completed an agriculture degree in 1968 and an oenology degree in 1970 and then gained winemaking experience overseas and in many of Australia's noted wine regions. In 1985 he moved to the Barossa Valley to run Barossa Valley Estate, where he created the now revered E & E Black Pepper Shiraz and the Ebenezer range of wines. After 30 years of winemaking experience, the establishment of Glaetzer Wines allowed him to produce boutique super premium wines under a family owned label.

Colin's son, Ben, worked as a cellarhand at Barossa Valley Estates during school and university holidays. He had aspirations to be a pediatric surgeon – "I wanted to have an impact, but I didn’t want to fix sick people all the time." But the smells and sounds of the winery at vintage drew him back. "I’d been working vintages for 10 or 12 years. I came from a pretty ordinary medical lecture and walked into the winery and thought, it doesn’t get better than this." So he switched to studying winemaking at Roseworthy, Adelaide University’s agricultural college.

After graduation, Ben worked in the Hunter Valley at Tyrrell's and travelled extensively through the world’s wine regions. In 1998, he returned to the Barossa and joined his father’s business. The family’s day-to-day business is its high volume winemaking operation at the Glaetzer winery, which is able to crush 10,000 tons of grapes each vintage.  30–40% of the crush is Glaetzer/Heartland/Mitolo, the three projects that Ben puts his name to, and the balance is contract work on behalf of numerous clients. 

Ben took over winemaking at Glaetzer in 2002. The Glaetzer mission is to focus on the production of small-volume, super premium wines from the small Ebenezer sub-region in the northern part of the Barossa Valley. Fruit is sourced from a loyal group of third- and fourth-generation Barossa grape growers who own around 260 hectares of vineyards, so this is as terroir-specific as winemaking gets. Vine age varies from 35 years to over 130 years of age.

The older vineyards are divided into blocks, each with different measured parameters. But despite the degree of science behind it, he has little truck with winemakers who depend only on laboratory analysis for making decisions. "I admit I don’t want to see the analysis; I just want to taste. There’s a window of perhaps four days between physiologically un-ripe, and over-cooked fruit in the Barossa, but I pick on ripeness of tannins and taste, not analysing the ripeness of the fruit and sugars."

Glaetzer produce four wines in their portfolio; the Wallace Shiraz Grenache, Bishop Shiraz, Anaperenna Shiraz Cabernet and the flagship Amon-Ra Shiraz. In 2016, they also released a very small quantity of their first 'perfect' wine, The Eye of Ra Shiraz, made from the finest parcel of fruit off the Ebenezer vineyard.