2022 Battles Estate Lateralis Shiraz | WA Shiraz of The Year

🏆 WA Good Food Guide Shiraz of the Year | Frankland River Wine of the Year

One of Western Australia's Most Exciting Cool-Climate Shirazes

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

Frankland River, Western Australia

WA Good Food Guide – Shiraz of the Year

Frankland River – Wine of the Year

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

RRP $82

If you haven't discovered Battles yet, this is the sort of wine that tells you why you should.

2022 BATTLES LATERALIS SHIRAZ

This isn't simply another highly rated Western Australian Shiraz.

It has been recognised as:

WA GOOD FOOD GUIDE SHIRAZ OF THE YEAR

and:

FRANKLAND RIVER WINE OF THE YEAR

Then add:

96 POINTS – HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION

That's a serious collection of accolades.

Coming from Frankland River, one of Australia's great cool-climate Shiraz regions, Lateralis is a completely different expression of Shiraz from the big, rich styles traditionally associated with warmer Australian regions.

This is about:

Perfume.

Spice.

Dark fruit.

Freshness.

Fine tannins.

Length.

And above everything:

ELEGANCE.

Tasting Notes

This is beautifully aromatic, savoury and detailed Shiraz.

Expect:

• Blackberry and blueberry
• Black cherry
• Dark plum
• Violets
• Black pepper
• Dried herbs
• Liquorice
• Olive and savoury spice
• Earthy complexity
• Fine mineral notes

The palate has excellent concentration, but there's nothing heavy or cumbersome about it.

Dark berries and plum provide the core of fruit before pepper, spice, herbs and savoury complexity start building around it.

There's a beautiful cool-climate freshness running through the wine.

And then come the tannins.

Fine. Structured. Persistent.

Everything feels beautifully composed.

The fruit isn't trying to overpower the structure.

The oak isn't trying to overpower the fruit.

It's all about balance.

Perfumed. Savoury. Spicy. Structured.

Seriously classy Shiraz.

WA Good Food Guide Shiraz of the Year

This is the accolade that should make people sit up and take notice.

The 2022 Lateralis was named:

SHIRAZ OF THE YEAR

by the WA Good Food Guide.

That's an extraordinary result for a small producer like Battles.

Western Australia produces some exceptional Shiraz, from Margaret River through to the Great Southern.

To emerge with this recognition says plenty about the quality of Lateralis.

But it didn't stop there.

Frankland River Wine of the Year

This may be even more impressive.

The 2022 Lateralis was also recognised as:

FRANKLAND RIVER WINE OF THE YEAR

Think about that for a moment.

Frankland River isn't some obscure emerging region.

It is home to some of Australia's most respected cool-climate wines and has built a formidable reputation for Shiraz in particular.

And Lateralis came out with:

WINE OF THE YEAR.

That is a serious endorsement.

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

Then comes another major piece of recognition:

96 POINTS – HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION

So we're not looking at a wine that performed well in one isolated tasting.

You have multiple independent endorsements pointing in exactly the same direction.

This is outstanding Frankland River Shiraz.

And it reinforces what is becoming increasingly clear with Battles:

This is a producer worth watching.

Why Frankland River?

If you love Shiraz but haven't explored Frankland River, you should.

Located within Western Australia's Great Southern, Frankland River has become one of Australia's benchmark regions for elegant, cool-climate Shiraz.

The region's inland location and cooler growing conditions allow Shiraz to ripen slowly.

That can create wines with:

Dark-fruit intensity.

Violet perfume.

Black pepper.

Natural freshness.

Savoury complexity.

Beautiful tannin structure.

It's Shiraz with flavour.

But crucially:

It's Shiraz with restraint.

Rather than relying on sheer ripeness and oak, the best Frankland River examples build complexity through perfume, spice, texture and structure.

And that's exactly why Lateralis is so exciting.

Battles – A Producer on the Rise

Battles is one of those producers we love finding at Liquid Vibe.

Small.

Focused.

Interesting vineyards.

And increasingly difficult to ignore.

The project brings together Lance Parkin and Kris Ambrozkiewicz, with a focus on distinctive vineyard sites across Western Australia.

And look at some of the wines now coming from Battles.

The Burnside Chardonnay has established an extraordinary track record.

The Estate Chardonnay has attracted major critical acclaim.

And now Lateralis has walked away with:

WA Good Food Guide Shiraz of the Year.

Frankland River Wine of the Year.

96 Points Halliday.

That's how reputations get built.

Not through marketing.

Through what's actually in the bottle.

A Different Expression of Australian Shiraz

If your idea of Australian Shiraz is enormous alcohol, massive oak and jammy black fruit, Lateralis is worth trying.

Because this represents another side of the variety.

There's still plenty of flavour.

It's still unmistakably Shiraz.

But the emphasis is different.

Think:

Violet rather than vanilla.

Pepper rather than sweetness.

Freshness rather than weight.

Fine tannin rather than brute force.

Length rather than sheer size.

It's one of the reasons cool-climate Australian Shiraz has become such an exciting category.

Food Pairings

This style of Shiraz is brilliant with food.

Try it with:

• Roast lamb
• Chargrilled ribeye
• Beef Wellington
• Duck breast
• Slow-cooked beef cheeks
• Venison
• Mushroom ragù
• Lamb shoulder
• Aged cheddar

The savoury, peppery character also makes it particularly good with grilled meat.

A good steak, a big glass and Lateralis.

Hard to improve on that.

Cellaring

The 2022 Lateralis is already several years into its development, but this is a wine with the structure and freshness to keep evolving.

Drink now or cellar confidently for 10–15+ years.

Young, expect dark berries, plum, violet, pepper and spice.

With time, those characters should move toward:

Leather

Earth

Dried herbs

Game

Tobacco

Black olive

Complex savoury spice

while retaining the freshness that makes Frankland River Shiraz so compelling.

Why We Love It

Because Battles keeps producing wines that make us stop and pay attention.

And this one has the credentials to back it up.

WA GOOD FOOD GUIDE SHIRAZ OF THE YEAR

FRANKLAND RIVER WINE OF THE YEAR

96 POINTS – HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION

Three enormous endorsements.

From one of Australia's great cool-climate Shiraz regions.

And from a small Western Australian producer whose reputation continues to grow.

2022 BATTLES LATERALIS SHIRAZ

Frankland River, Western Australia

RRP $82

If you love Clonakilla, Luke Lambert, Mount Langi, Syrahmi, Castagna or the more elegant side of Australian Shiraz, this is absolutely the sort of wine you should investigate.

Perfumed. Peppery. Savoury. Structured.

And already recognised as one of Western Australia's standout Shirazes.

👉 Shiraz of the Year. Frankland River Wine of the Year. 96 Halliday points. If Battles isn't already on your radar, the 2022 Lateralis is a very good reason to put it there.