I bought some of this wine on a whim after reading that it had won some awards. That’s me, a sucker for a few medals stuck on a bottle. Actually, I’m a fan of Canberra District Shiraz for its often elegant, medium weight style, so usually jump at the chance to acquire a new example. A bright, expressive nose that presents dried flowers, peppery spice and clean red fruit in equal measure. A bit of funk in there too. It’s got good complexity (more so as it sits in glass) and, to me, is extremely attractive. To digress for a moment, wines like this make me acutely feel the inadequacy of using flavour comparisons when describing wine. I suppose, at a molecular level, there’s some validity to describing wine through flavour analogues, but good wines, such as this one, defy such descriptions because they are seamless, they taste of themselves, and all I can hope to do in saying “spice and red fruit” is roughly approximate the impression of this, or any other, wine. With that over and done with (much to everyone’s relief, I’m sure), I will continue with the wine’s entry, which is lightfooted and slippery, maybe more textural than flavoursome at first, but quickly building brightly fruited flavour as it moves towards the mid-palate. It’s medium bodied and characterful by way of red, sappy fruit and edges of spice. Mouthfeel is supple and soft, but there’s also some subtle acidity contributing flow and structure to the wine. Balance is very “drink now,” though. The after palate gets spicier and trails to a finish that shows some attractive, lingering sweetness. Overall, it could do with a notch more intensity, but it’s a lovely Shiraz style (in my view) that places elegance before power. It reminds me of a more subtle version of Gimblett Gravels Syrah. Good value.Collector WinesPrice: $A26Closure: StelvinDate tasted: March 2008
Alcohol %?
GW
PS. And yes..the molecular level smells are the same ones in everyday life..geosmin (potatoes/beetroot),Trans-2-nonenal (Cucumber), dimethyl sulfide (truffle), Ionones (Violet), Limonene, citronellol, linaloöl (Citrus)
It helps me if people try and describe them…
Alcohol is 13.5%.
There’s no doubt that drawing key flavour comparisons is one of the most direct ways we have, as wine lovers, to relate the experience of a wine. I usually try to identify the two or three most relevant notes. Frustratingly, the whole, for a good wine anyway, always adds up to more than sum of its descriptors, and I wish at times for a more complete, more visceral vocabulary with which to communicate this. One of the challenges of writing tasting notes, as you well know.
I’m retasting this wine over a couple of days. Although it’s eminently drinkable as soon as you crack the Stelvin, it’s also lovely to revisit on the next day, at which point an extra layer of complexity and fruit weight is added. I reckon a bit of short term (2-3 years) cellaring will do this one wonders. Excellent wine.
Never the most intense wine, this is now fading gently into mellow notes that showcase the spicier, more savoury side of the wine. There’s little sweet fruit left to speak of. Lovely and soft, I’d suggest you drink up if you have any left in your cellar.