The epic richness of the Small Gully Wines Black Magic Shiraz 2018

It’s easy to dismiss wines like this Small Gully Wines Black Magic Shiraz 2018 as something contrived. A 16.4% alcohol monster that should be turned into port rather than table wine. Yet that sort of thinking ignores the fascinating balance that this frankly ridiculous wine boasts. Sure, it’s so thick you could almost stand a spoon up in it, yet it never feels like an attack. It’s more like an oversized bear hug.

For context, the Small Gully Wines are produced off a vineyard in Marananga boasting old vine Shiraz, Cabernet & Grenache. This part of the Barossa is famed for big wines, so the proudly bold styles isn’t out of step with the neighbours. This Black Magic Shiraz is the flagship, drawn from the Marananga property plus a vineyard in the far north of the Barossa. Matured in new French oak, this is the current release too – a trend towards delayed-release that trickles down through the whole Small Gully range.

As a whole, these wines regularly don’t work – too alcoholic, too much – but when they’re on, they’re so interesting. This is true-to-winery form too – dark, bricking mahogany red colours, a nose that is impossibly concentrated with sweet coconut oak (complete with some Grange style formic acid hints), molasses and dehydrated plums. That nose is so dense and still youthful. Would make a great port! What’s a surprise is that the palate is generous and never hard – it’s this chunky, huge, warm, mouth-and-nose-filling ride of wild concentration, with alcohol warmth that is just part of the schtick. Personally, I couldn’t finish more than a glass (which is reflected in the score), but I can recognise the interest.

Best drinking: now, but it will live for a decade if the alcohol doesn’t win first. 18/20, 93/100. 16.4%, $145. Small Gully website. Would I buy it? A glass.