Jim Barry The Armagh Shiraz

In 1964 Jim Barry and his wife Nancy bought 28 acres of land from their friend and neighbour Duncan McRae Wood. On this prime farm land they planted the Armagh Vineyard and what would later become one of Australia’s finest examples of Shiraz!

In the early 1980s Peter Barry (son of Jim and second generation winemaker) returned from a winemaking stint in Bordeaux and convinced the Barry family to craft a single vineyard wine to become the Barry’s iconic, flagship red. First produced in 1985 and named Armagh in dedication to the Irish settlers who used the word to describe the area’s lush, rolling hills which reminded them of their homeland.

This is the 2021 vintage Armagh – using fruit from that iconic Armagh vineyard that’s now over 50 years old, aged for 15 months in 50% new French oak this is every bit the flagship red Peter Barry intended it to be…

98/100 (David Sly, Decanter UK)
“A special vintage perfectly captures The Armagh Vineyard’s particular signature of heady wild herbs, powerful black fruits and rich red earth…suggests decades ahead in the cellar.”

98/100 (Matthew Jukes)
“I am fortunate to have tasted a great many vintages of The Armagh, and this is one Aussie Shiraz that never disappoints. Often closed and brooding in its youth, there is always a benchmark Clare signature of wild herbs, baked earth, and desert florals hovering above the epic fruit. This 2021 vintage is no exception, and the fruit is nothing short of sensational. I cannot remember tasting a more expressive or, indeed, more elegant wine from this hallowed ground. It is the perfect expression of region, grape, vintage and site, and it rings true to Barry’s ethos of reaching for the stars with every wine they produce. In two words – ‘buy it’.

97/100 (James Suckling)
“This is deep, concentrated and wonderfully balanced with a full body but excellent freshness and energy. Aromas of black and blue fruits, orange peel, dried violets, star anise and coffee beans combine with a fine-grained yet solid and focused tannin frame. Long and intense.”

97/100 (Erin Larkin, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate)
“This is one of the very best Armaghs made to date, and it will be even better in time.”

95/100 (James Halliday’s Wine Companion)
“A thunderous release on hand…it shows that time in cellar is advisable.”

Look, we get it, it’s an expensive bottle of Shiraz but boy oh boy it’s one of those try-before-you-die reds and can sit in your cellar for 20-25 years and beyond. As Peter puts it “Someone said they can’t afford to drink Armagh, I said they can’t afford not to”.