The wines of John Duval  
Ex-Grange custodian's Barossa wines reviewed 

John Duval is famous for the 29 years he spent at Penfolds, where from 1986–2002 he was, as Penfolds’ chief winemaker, the custodian of Grange. In 2003 he started his own label, specializing (predictably, but sensibly) in wines from old Barossa vineyards.

People probably expected John to aim for a big, Grange-like creation; instead, he produced the relatively elegant Plexus, which is a Grenache/Shiraz/Mourvèdre blend. In 2004, he added to the range the Entity Shiraz, and in 2005 the reserve-style Eligo Shiraz. These are wines that strive for balance and elegance, Barossa style, and to large extent succeed.

The job as Penfolds’ chief winemaker had two parts. The first was as the custodian of Grange and the other great wines of Penfolds; the second was developing new and exciting wines. The stylistically different RWT Shiraz was John’s idea. He recognized that another style of Barossa Shiraz was legitimate, one he describes as ‘more open, fleshy, blackberry, blueberry, framed in French not American oak.’

Old vineyards are important for this project; fortunately, the Barossa has a lot of them. ‘At Penfolds, we coined the term “controlled neglect”,’ reports John. ‘Old vines do tend to find their own balance if we keep them alive.’

John Duval Wines Plexus Shiraz/Grenache/Mourvèdre 2006 Barossa Valley, Australia
14.5% alcohol. Half Shiraz, one third old bush vine Grenache, the remainder old bush vine Mourvèdre, aged mostly in old oak. This is dominated by sweet, plum, red cherry and blueberry fruit, with a lovely soft structure and some attractive peppery spiciness in the background. It’s lively and pure with a seductive lushness, but there’s enough spicy structure to provide balance. It’s delicious now, with real Barossa typicity, but it should age really nicely, too. 91/100 (£18.99 Noel Young, Oz Wines, SWIG, Harperwells, Secret Cellar, Wimbledon Wine Cellar) 12/08

John Duval Wines Plexus Shiraz/Grenache/Mourvèdre 2006 Barossa Valley, Australia
Sweet blackberry/blueberry nose. The palate is ripe, sweet and a bit jammy (but in a nice way) with some lushness and nice spicy structure and definition under the fruit. Really fresh and nicely fruited. 91/100 06/09

John Duval Wines Entity Shiraz 2006 Barossa Valley, Australia
14.5% alcohol. 17 months in French oak, 30% new. Deep coloured. Initially shy and simply fruity on opening, after time this picks up weight and begins to show its potential. Lovely aromatic, slightly meaty, pure dark fruits nose with blackberry, dark cherry, spice and violets. On the palate there’s real elegance to the dark fruits, which marry beautifully with the oak. This isn’t a big blockbuster style; rather it’s a brilliantly balanced, youthful Shiraz with masses of potential for future development. John Duval says that his aim with this wine is to produce a Shiraz with elegance and structure, and I think he’s achieved this. But it needs time. 93/100 (£20.99 Noel Young, Oz Wines, SWIG, Harperwells, Secret Cellar, Wimbledon Wine Cellar) 12/08

John Duval Wines Entity Shiraz 2006 Barossa Valley, Australia
Nicely dense with pure dark fruits. Spicy with some good structure to the sweet dark fruit. Quite pure and full. Rich but well defined. 92/100 06/09

John Duval Wines Eligo Shiraz 2006 Barossa Valley, Australia
A dense wine with real purity of dark fruits, complemented by some spice and mineral notes. Nice density on the palate with great combination of ripeness and freshness. Good stuff with lots of potential. 92/100 06/09

Wines tasted as indicated  
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