
I first came across this wine at a Waitrose tasting and decided it deserved a closer look. As it turned out, only the 2023 vintage was available on the retail shelf rather than the 2024 vintage I had tasted at the press event. That made for an interesting comparison because, when this happens, the older vintage is often a shadow of its former self.
This wine comes from Padthaway in Australia. Jip Jip Rocks is a striking pink-red rock formation around 350 million years old, surrounded by iron rich soils and regarded as sacred in Aboriginal beliefs. It is produced by Morambro Creek Wines, a family owned winery established by the Bryson family.
Made from 100% Shiraz grown on low yielding vines, it comes in at 14.5% ABV. The 2024 vintage was awarded 94 points at the Melbourne International Wine Competition.
Giving the wine 20 to 30 minutes in a glass or decanter really helps it open up. It offers intense ripe blackberry, together with eucalyptus, spice, cedar and dark chocolate. Smooth and full bodied, it delivers ripe plum, dark berries and mocha. It is dry rather than jammy, with plenty of rich fruit and relatively low tannins. There was also more mouth feel than I remembered from the original tasting.
The 2023 turned out to be remarkably similar to the new 2024 vintage, showing that this is a wine that can comfortably cope with spending some time on a shop shelf/warehouse or even in your own wine rack without quickly losing its appeal. That fits well with the producer’s view that it has good cellaring potential.
Jip Jip Rocks Shiraz is available from Waitrose for £13.50, and at that price it offers excellent value.











