Claymore Wines Nirvana Reserve Shiraz 2022 from Clare Valley is a big, brooding, rock‑anthem of a Shiraz, drawn from the very best estate parcels and cranked up with serious French oak. It’s dense, dark and unapologetically full‑bodied – a proper headline act in the Claymore line‑up.

In the glass, this Nirvana Reserve Shiraz is inky maroon with a powerful nose of dense plum, black fruits, chocolate, coffee grinds, bay leaf and roast meats, wrapped in sweet, spiced oak. The palate is rich and creamy up front, with darkest berries, plum, mocha and briar, carried by sleek yet gently chewy tannins and impressive length. It’s plush, concentrated and still a little untamed in the best way.

For food, it deserves aged beef fillet, slow‑cooked beef cheek, lamb shoulder or a sharp matured cheddar so the wine’s power has something worthy to wrestle with. Give it a good decant now or tuck it away for 8–10 years to let all that dark fruit, chocolate and spice knit into pure nirvana in the glass.