Jim Barry The Armagh Shiraz 2002 Clare Valley, South Australia Australia

Jim Barry The Armagh 2002 -  99 Points Robert Parker Jnr 

During my visit to the Clare Valley in December 2015, which was shortly after the bush-fires came very close to torching both Clare & Barossa Valley wine regions.  I headed up to Clare in search of 3 things - Jim Barry Wines, The Riesling Trail, the infamous AP Birks Wendouree and their winemaker Tony Brady (which will remain a mystery until my next visit).    The Clare quickly went up in my books as a favourite region to visit, super friendly locals that took some time to share with us their knowledge of the region and their story.   

Outside of the Langtons Classification Exceptional wines, I was blown away by the consistency of vino throughout the region. Here are some of the wineries that caught my attention - the up and coming Shut the Gate & Mad Bastard Winery, run by former Jim Barry Winemaker Mark Barry - clearly named his new venture Mad Bastard after himself!!  We had a great chat and he had me in stitches for a good hour.

Arriving at Jim Barry Wines, I was meet by his grandson, current winemaker and all round top guy - Sam Barry who showed us around the winery and drove us to where their Armagh vineyard is where he surprised us with the newly bottled 2012 Armagh and from what he said we were the first punters in the trade to the 2012 vintage prior to their Member release... Amazing!

We purchased the 94, 95, 97, 98, 99 and 02 Jim Barry Armagh from the winery which was a pre-order by Chris Martin from Cold Play and we have limited supply for our selected mailing list only customers.  Provenance 100% guaranteed with these beauties.

Conley's Fine Wines - Scott Conley & Jim Barry's Grandson and current Winemaker Sam Barry/  Seen here enjoying the award wining 2012 Jim Barry Armagh prior to trade or member release.   And shortly afterwards being named the 2014 Winery of the Year by leading UK wine writer Matthew Jukes in his 100 Best Australian Wines report 2016/2017, which also featured The Barry Bros Shiraz Cabernet in its prestigious top 100 list.

About the Winery

Located in the cool uplands of the North Mount Lofty ranges around 50 km north of Adelaide, the vineyards of Jim Barry were built in Clare in 1959. This is a family run winery focused on creating quality wines through a creative way to deal with viticulture and wine-production technology. Jim Barry Wines' 'The Armagh' Shiraz has been raised to "Excellent" in the Langton's Classification of Australian Wine VI. The Armagh was one of just four wines to be lifted to the most noteworthy classification.Peter Barry, Managing Director of Jim Barry Wines said he was "excited to have 'The Armagh' perceived along  these  lines. "In 1985, my family and I chose to make a benchmark Australian Shiraz from the first vineyard that my guardians, Jim and Nancy planted. We needed to bond a spot for the Clare Valley as a world class wine creating area.

Winery Details

Jim Barry Wines
33 Craig Hill Road, CLARE
SA, 5453, Australia
Phone: 61 (0) 8 88422261
Website: http://jimbarry.com/

About the Wine

The 2002 Armagh shows rich and savoury aromas of blackberry, licorice, mint and toast oak, The palate is dense, concentrated, and shows rich extract, with 

ripe black cherry, licorice and mint, well integrated sweet oak and velvety tannins. This wine is ideal for long term cellaring. We suggest that the wine is allowed to ‘breathe’ a minimum of two hours before being consumed to fully appreciate the distinctive flavours and aromas. If the wine is older than three years, decanting is necessary as the wine is unfiltered and a deposit will appear with age.