This is a very tidy wine, and an attractive one. It’s firm, well-flavoured, varietal and convincing. It tastes of leaf matter and black cherry, sweet spice and cedar, though it carries undergrowth and subtle ferrous-like qualities too. It has spread, it has run, it has firmness, and it has drinkability. Kudos to the Lonely Shore team.

-Campbell Mattinson, The Winefront
93 Points

Lonely Shore is from a vineyard planted in 1996 near Manjimup in Western Australia, roughly 300kms south-east of Perth.

Fragrant herb and woodsmoke notes thread their way through meaty, black cherried fruit. It's clean, varietal and characterful at once. The balance of bass and treble notes feels assured throughout and while it's a juicy and refreshing style in general, it also has both depth and texture. Love the smoky-almost-saline aspect of this. Love the fruit.

-Campbell Mattinson, The Winefront
93 Points

From a 1996-planted vineyard in the Middlesex region of Manjimup. Rests in oak, of which 10% is new. It's got a lovely perfume of sour cherry, smoky spice, truffle, dried herb and eucalyptus going on. The palate is set similarly with very firm, dry and smoky tannins, dried cherry, licorice and a smoky spice finish. Very savoury, succulent and structured overall. It's a serious feeling wine, but a bit out of the box, and in that, not untoward, but a caveat for its idiosyncrasies. A serious expression, one could say.

-Mike Bennie, Halliday Wine Companion
93 points

Lonely Shore - a producer to watch, if ever there was one - is from a vineyard planted in 1996 near Manjimup in Western Australia, roughly 300kms south-east of Perth. Cooler / wetter season has resulted in a slightly lighter, more perfumed release.

It's very good. It's fragrant and it's light-ish but it's insistent, complex and charming. Smoky reduction, sweet spice, forest berries and undergrowth characters swing persuasively through the palate. The tannin though, it's something: it has an assertion to it, an authority, though it remains at one with the fruit. This wine was picked earlier than usual thanks to impending rain but it's done the wine no harm; it's arguably been a positive. Lovely stuff, this. Both complex and moreish.

-Campbell Mattinson, The Winefront
92+ points

Hand-picked fruit from the DeiTos vineyard (planted 1996), 20% whole bunches, matured for 8 months in French oak (20% new). As is usual for this vineyard, the fruit is on the darker end of the spectrum: mulberry, black licorice, black cherry and exotic spice. The palate is structured, tannic and a wee bit grungy, propped up by a stemmy, bunchy character mid palate that lifts it way up. The acidity is cooling and woven through the finish. Another very smart release from Lonely Shore.

-Erin Larkin, Halliday Wine Companion
Gold 95 points /100

It’s a smoky, reductive, complex release. Bunchy but with boysenberry and red/black cherry fruit flavour running energetically throughout. There are herb and spice notes aplenty here, along with juicy acidity, and very, very fine tannin. It has plenty to say now, plenty that impresses, but its best is ahead of it, arguably. Most notable about this release is its balance; of all the various facets.

-Campbell Mattinson, The Winefront
93 points

Erin Larkin: Black pepper, strawberry, bright life and lift. The palate has a structural integrity that I like, and a clarity too. It speaks of stemminess and almost sappy fruit (in a good way). Love the drawn-out length. It has a red jube character on the finish. Black salted licorice. Really interesting. Lingering and dry…. sinewy in a sexy kind of way. Serious length. Soft tannins. Fruit quality beyond price level.

Fruit is handpicked, cold soaked and fermented in two parcels. When stems are ripe a whole bunch component is fermented separately which is roughly 10% of the blend [15% in 2019]. It is then basket pressed and gravity movement is used as much as possible. It spends 8 months in French oak (10% new) and bottled unfined and unfiltered.”

-Erin Larkin
94 points

Lean, lingering w gentle tannins. Classy.

-John Jens
18.3 points

It's a gently reductive, smoky style with clear black cherry and light plum flavours infused with peppercorn, mint and fragrant / bunchy herbs. It's a particularly supple, and indeed velvety, pinot with just-enough tannin and good shape throughout. What it's perhaps best at is keeping you interested; there's a fair bit going on here without it being in-your-face about it.

-Campbell Mattinson, The Winefront
92 points