2021 Mystery Adelaide Plains Shiraz Deal No. 88

'Australia's best bargain winemaker' Philip White

Ludicrous. Just ludicrous. It’s all we can say about this showstopping Shiraz from the everyman and South Australian winemaking wizard Dom Torzi.

Torzi has a way of finding the x-factor in wines, often with very humble price tags. Case in point: this Longhop Old Vines from the Adelaide Plains, the halfway point between the Adelaide Hills and the Eden Valley.

These old vines are lucky survivors, having missed out on the vine pull scheme of the 1980s that uprooted many of the state’s great old vineyards. Here, Torzi takes the fruit and gives it that lustrous shine for which he is renowned. Thick, decadent, and wafting of vanilla, cherry, and seasoned oak, it’s a smooth and radiant Shiraz with plenty of personality and pizzazz. Critics have been left scratching their heads at how he does it for the money, with Gary Walsh even going so far as to say that the 2021 is the best Longhop Shiraz ever made.

At this price, don’t stop at one bottle. In fact, don’t just stop at a case. Tell your friends, acquaintances, colleagues, neighbours, and family. Tell everyone. This is a stunning value buy, right up there with the best bang for your buck imaginable.