"Brilliant, beautifully balanced, focused and supple shiraz, easy to enjoy now but ideally locked away for twenty years. Deep, musky and perfumed, its spicy and accentuated cassis, plum and blueberry shiraz flavours are balanced by chocolate/cedary oak and fine, tight-knit tannins. It's powerful, yet fine and seamless, with absolutely nothing sticking out where it shouldn't.
(18.9, Drink 2016-2026)" 96 pts, Jeremy Oliver On Australian Wine.

"A wine of majestic strength and power, richness and harmony, this full-bodied behemoth shows velvety tannin, 45+ seconds length, and knockout aromas of blackberry liqueur intermixed with licorice, smoke, and meaty notes. The wine is viscous yet nicely supported by acidity and ripe tannin. Still extremely youthful and unevolved, this wine will benefit from another 2-3 years of cellaring and keep for 20-25 years. This is undoubtedly a great vintage of Rockford."  94 pts, Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, Feb. 2002.