Glaetzer Amon Ra Shiraz 2020 Magnum

150cl bottle.

Vegan.

A rare magnum of this outstanding wine.

We have had a long association selling Amon Ra and before Street Wines got started I sold and dealt with the first vintages of Amon Ra. Some of the customers I initially sold to have been kind enough to share their early bottles at our Colchester Oddbods tastings.  I have also taken opportunities to join Ben and Nick on many occasions to taste and learn more about this special wine, including some library vintages.

Amon-Ra Shiraz is an iconic wine that epitomises Ben Glaetzer’s passion to create wines that are full flavoured, multi layered and intense but still elegant, stylish and finely balanced.
In Egyptian mythology, Amon-Ra is considered to be the king of all gods. The temple of Amon-Ra was believed to be the first temple to ever plant a monoculture vineyard to produce wine for the citizens of the temple.
The eye on front of the label is the all-seeing eye of Horus  – a powerful Egyptian symbol of protection. It is represented as a figure with six parts, corresponding to what Egyptians regarded as the six senses; touch, taste, hearing, sight, smell and thought. Ben created Amon-Ra Shiraz to appeal to all these six senses.
Exceptional old vine fruit was sourced from the famed Ebenezer sub district at the northern tip of the Barossa Valley. Vine age 50—130 years old. Yield 2 tonnes per hectare.

The 2020 vintage offered us so much in quality, but so little in quantity. The dry year leading up to vintage, 2019 being the driest year on record, was always going to lead to a reduced crop. This was amplified by frost in October affecting flowering. Smaller bunches with smaller berries were then offered the reprieve of a cooler January and February in contrast to the previous year. The result is very low yields, but wonderful quality and character. Shiraz stands out as the quality leader for the vintage, offering extraordinary colour and flavour.

Colour: Deep purple upon release, but will evolve to a rich, dark red over time in bottle.
Aroma: Dark plum and blackberry notes are offset by hints of black pepper and wild forest herbs.
Palate: 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.