Huon Hooke is one of Australia's most respected independent wine writers. His website, huonhooke.com, is one of the key industry reference sites and plays a very influential role in the Australian wine trade. Huon recently reviewed all our new release wines including the 2016 Shiraz-based wines, and 2017 Grenache and Mataro-based wines. We were very excited with the results. All four of our Barossa Shiraz from the 2016 vintage are currently featuring in the top 12 of his top Barossa Shiraz from 2016. Although there are still many wines from this great vintage still to be tasted, it was a great result for a small winery like Hayes Family Wines. He also featured Hayes Family Wines in an article "Spectacular shiraz-a-thon" on the changing face of the industry, that article can be found here.

The detailed notes for all his reviews can be found on our wine pages but some highlights below

Our Current Release Shiraz

2016 Hayes Family Wines Shiraz (sold out)

95 Points - Deep, dense red/purple colour with a glass-staining saturation of colour. The bouquet mirrors this with tremendous chocolaty, concentrated richness. This is also evident in the mouth where it is very rich, powerful, mouth-filling and blackberry-ish. There is some star anise and liquorice, too. The wine has formidable richness. A sumptuous, bargain-priced shiraz. (1058 bottles) 30/3/2018 Drink 2018 to 2036

2016 Hayes Family Wines Vineyard Series Greenock Shiraz (last stocks are available here)

94 Points - Deep, dark, dense red/purple colour with a marked charred-oak bouquet, smoky, sooty and earthy qualities. The wine is deep and earthy, concentrated and fleshy with a bitter dark chocolate and coal-dusty earthiness, which is very typical of the district. The tannins are soft and the wine is fleshy and delicious in a savoury way. The oak is just a wee bit overcooked. (630 bottles) 30/3/2018 Drink 2018 to 2036

2016 Hayes Family Wines Vineyard Series Ebenezer Shiraz (sold out)

95 Points - Colossal colour: very saturated purple/red, with a concentrated plum juice aroma to match. The wine is very intense and concentrated, essency and mouth-filling, with tremendous power and density, at the same time impressively supple and smooth, fleshy and easy on the tongue. It borders on jammy but gets away with it. A lush, decadent style of shiraz. (620 bottles) 30/3/2018

Drink 2018 to 2028

And a few of our Future Release Wines

2017 Hayes Family Wines Carol & Ivan's Pick Grenache Shiraz Mataro (to be released September 1)

93 Points - Deep purple/red colour with a shy, chocolaty aroma and subtle black cherry notes. The palate is rich and lush in sweet ripe fruit: medium to full-bodied and smoothly-textured, with abundant ripe tannins. A very smart wine indeed. It's lovely now and will age well for many years. 17/3/2018 Drink 2018 to 2032

2016 Hayes Family Wines Coonawarra Shiraz (to be released September 1)

92 Points - Deep, bright red/purple hue. Spicy and oak-tinged aromas predominate, the palate medium-bodied and lively, refreshing and crisp but not high in acid. Lovely freshness and brightness. Red fruits more than dark. Very good line. A fine wine. (920 bottles) 30/3/2018 Drink 2018 to 2030

2016 Hayes Family Wines Reserve Shiraz (to be released September 1)

96 Points - Deep, dense, concentrated red/purple colour with a slightly shy nose which hints at smoky char oak and black fruits.The palate is very fruit-sweet, almost luscious, almost as though there's residual sugar, a massive fruit-bomb, but it also has formidable tannin and structure to keep the balance. A massive, beamy style of shiraz, and very good in its way, if not my personal favourite. It is bordering on syrupy, but there's just enough tannin to keep it in check. A very impressive, spotlight-hogging style of wine. (300 bottles) 30/3/2018 Drink 2020 to 2038