The 2019 Ode To Lorraine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (47%), Shiraz (46%) and Merlot (7%), all of it grown on the estate vineyard in Nuriootpa. The vines are between 15 and 75 years old, and the wine was matured for 24 months in French oak (15% new). On the nose, this is typically elegant, fine-boned and brambly (precisely how I remember it from tasting it at the estate) and follows through with this profile in the mouth, and through the finish. The characters lean toward smokehouse almonds, toffee, resin and cassis, with tobacco leaf, earth and green peppercorns. This has an interesting paradox of lighter, early-pick leafy characters, and it is full-bodied, with 14.8% alcohol.

The 2018 Ode To Lorraine is a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Shiraz and just 4% Merlot, all from the Nuriootpa property. Aged more than two years in 30% new French oak puncheons, it offers up hints of menthol and cedar on the nose, backed by plenty of blackberries and cassis. Medium to full-bodied, it's silky and streamlined on the palate, not a huge blockbuster, but a wine that harnesses the ripeness of the vintage and focuses it into a long, fruit-driven finish.

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Shiraz (33%) and Merlot (7%), the 2017 Ode To Lorraine comes entirely from the original Nuriootpa property. Aged in 40% new French oak for two years, this medium to full-bodied wine artfully balances that vanillin, cigar-box character with cassis and blackberry fruit, then adds hints of mint and bay leaf on the long, silky finish.

The mint-tinged 2016 Ode To Lorraine is 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Shiraz and 4% Merlot. It's smooth and supple, with cassis flavors and Cabernet structure just rounded out and given a fine gloss by the addition of Shiraz. This medium to full-bodied beauty should drink well for a decade or more.

The 2015 Ode To Lorraine is a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Shiraz and 5% Merlot, all grown around the family base in Nuriootpa. Leafy, minty notes accent cassis and cherry fruit on the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate is buttressed by dusty-ripe tannins and a long, juicy finish. It's a well-executed version of the classic Australian Cab-Shiraz cocktail, with a twist of Merlot.