Tag Archives: Shiraz/Syrah

Best's Thomson Family Shiraz 2006

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I’ve just returned from a very exciting, though quick, trip through the Grampians and Pyrenees regions of Victoria, and find myself with a backlog of thoughts and not enough time (or energy, for now) to put them into words. I do, however, have a bottle of current release Thomson Family Shiraz in front of me now, and am compelled to make a few notes.

This is on its third day after opening. My first tasting, at the winery, revealed a wine so backward in structure that I found it hard to tease much from the glass. What I did manage to extract — classy oak, dark plums, dense spice — seemed very promising at the time, and it’s only now that I have an opportunity to retaste.

What’s wonderful about it on day three is how elegant a wine it is, perhaps unexpectedly given its initially dense structure and reluctant expressiveness. Now, indeed, this wine is classic medium bodied Great Western goodness, an array of spice notes leading the olfactory way to complex plum fruit aromas and a background of slightly charry oak. It’s less high toned than some, preferring brown spice to sharper cracked pepper. Nonetheless, the wine is regional to its core, and that’s a great thing for lovers of Western Victorian Shiraz.

The palate shows a degree of restraint that is most impressive. There’s a light, almost casual, edge to the clean plum flavours running along the line that makes me smile in this context, because such confident simplicity goes against the grain of many self-consciously brutish “reserve” level wines. No such pretension here, though. The palate structure is easy and elegant, flowing cleanly through all stages with good continuity. Textured red and black fruits mingle with a range of spice flavours and relatively restrained oak, precisely layered and all sitting within a medium weight frame. There are all sorts of complexities to the flavour profile too — some interesting tobacco notes, for example — that help the wine evolve in the glass. An excitingly extended, spiced finish is impressive in quality terms but for me comes across simply as delicious.

One would be hard pressed to find a truer, more relaxed, expression of Great Western Shiraz than this. A great example of one of our great regional styles.

Best’s Wines
Price: $A150
Closure: Cork
Source: Sample

Mulyan Cowra Shiraz 2007

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It must be a Mulyan thing; the reaction I’m having to this wine is quite similar to that I experienced when tasting the 07 Block 9 Shiraz Viognier: fascination mixed with a sense of the wine sitting out on a limb in terms of correctness. I may be completely off the mark, but my first impression was “stuck ferment”, though I hasten to add the offending aromas have blown off to reveal a much cleaner wine. Certainly, if you try this wine, give it a chance to show the positive side of its character.

The nose is peppery and meaty, with ripe blackberries wedged into the spaces that remain. Pretty classic cool climate Shiraz aromas, in fact, though certainly on the wilder side, with less floral spice and more meat than some. There’s something masculine, almost brutal, about this aroma profile, but whatever one might think of the styling, my feeling is there’s an intent and sophistication here that sits well above the wine’s $20 price point.

The palate is nicely textured, with well integrated acidity and loose knit tannins that run most of the wine’s length. Entry is positive and fruit-driven, flavours becoming more complex towards the middle palate. This is a medium bodied wine, showing moderately intense flavours in the context of an edgy, slightly aggressive architecture. A bright after palate is full of blackberries and pepper steak. The finish is reasonable.

It’s impossible to dismiss this wine, despite that it comes across as over-eager and lacking the poise one might wish for. In some ways, it has me stumped. But I simply can’t discount it. Well worth trying, especially at the price.

Mulyan Wines
Price: $A20
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Thomas DJV Shiraz 2007

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I bought some of this ages ago on the strength of some writeups but this is the first time I’ve sat down to taste it. What interested me about this wine — and it was a sufficient hook to prompt me to buy untasted — was a stated intent to create an “old school” Hunter red, lighter in body and acidified courtesy of Semillon rather than tartaric acid from a packet. All this by one of the hottest producers in the Hunter Valley, a region whose wines I enjoy beyond reasonable measure.

The nose is fleet yet intense, with floral notes, crunchy red berries, nutty caramel oak and a light dash of regional red dirt. A hint of minerality too? Perhaps. This is an elegant aroma profile in all respects, not battering the senses but rather suggesting its character slowly, building complexity as it speaks.

The palate does that wonderful Pinot-like trick of combining fabulous impact and intensity with deceptively light structure and body. Anyone who tends to mistake weight for substance should have sip of this wine. Entry is quite tingly, with bright red fruits and assertive acidity winding around each other towards the middle palate, where the flavours open out a bit. There’s a curiously juicy green streak here — green in the sense of flower stalks and the sap of succulents — that creates a really fresh overlay to more red fruit and dirt. The tannin-derived texture is fabulous, being light and loose yet even at the same time. Intense flavours ride right through the after palate and finish.

What a curious wine; it seems so modest in its styling, yet shows all the hallmarks of quality: complexity, intensity, persistence. Surely one to follow.

Thomas Wines
Price: $A35
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Retail

Clayfield Massif Shiraz 2008

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It’s been a few months since I last tasted this wine at cellar door. It wasn’t a rushed tasting as such, but it did take place in the height of summer, a couple of days before a catastrophic fire ban descended on Western Victoria, so you can imagine the conditions (42 degrees C from memory). I have been looking forward to tasting it again at leisure, which I did last night. Here are the results.

The nose shows thick, liqueur-like notes of plum flesh, cherry pips, chocolate dust and dark spices. This is such a deep pool of aroma one could easily, pleasurably, get lost smelling it; it’s just one of those wines. The oak is well-judged in character and volume, present yet never more than supportive. It lacks the detail and subtlety usually present in the Clayfield Black Label, but on its own terms is a lovely wine to smell, and probably easier to enjoy right away.

In the mouth, it is basically an explosion of concentrated Grampians Shiraz flavour. Perhaps not as spicy as some, it nevertheless possesses the beautiful plum flavours and general sense of elegance that are hallmarks of this region’s wines. Entry is full-flavoured and immediate, placing plum skins directly onto the tip of the tongue. Juicy plum flesh accelerates towards the middle palate, where a dense, expansive range of flavours spread generously from left to right. It’s rich for sure, and there may be some who prefer a leaner expression of this varietal from what is a cooler climate region. What astonishes me, though, is how the wine remains within the regional idiom and, at the same time, shows such scale and ripeness. Its generosity more than compensates for any tendency to stylistic brutality. Beautiful, flavoursome tannins creep over the tongue from back to front as the after palate progresses. The finish shows slightly sappy oak flavours and goes for some time.
This would be good value at $35; as it is, a dead set bargain.
Update: day two sees spice come to the fore, and the aroma now has a lovely rich fruit cake character to it. Delicious.

Clayfield Wines
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Retail

Quarry Hill Shiraz 2008

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Interesting wine, this one. At the price, one might well assume the style to be an easy drinking quaffer; it’s anything but. In fact, I didn’t feel able to taste it properly on day one, so left it overnight to open up, which it has. It’s now somewhat more expressive and does not seem to be tiring. 

On the nose, dark plums, cinnamon, nuts, pepper steak and nougat; indeed, the oak influence seems considerable, yet the fruit holds its own, dense and powerful in its expression. There are some nuances — notably a hint of earth and something slightly rubbery — but I would not consider the aroma especially complex. It is, however, serious in intent and savoury in character. 
The palate reinforces the savouriness of the aroma profile. Indeed, this is an uncompromising, regional view of Shiraz, and I enjoy its confidence. The entry is mostly fruit-driven and possesses a sense of luxe that does not require fruit sweetness. I love the acidity here; it’s really well integrated and sweeps dense fruit notes through to the middle palate, where they remain well-formed even as they curl into crisply defined strands of flavour. More sinewy plums, roast beef, spice and gentle oak. This is a medium bodied wine, with reasonable intensity; certainly, there’s nothing excessive or unbalanced about the style. The after palate freshens nicely with a sappy note, then ushers in a surprisingly long finish.
This isn’t a perfect wine by any means, but I really like the direction in which it is headed and, on the basis of this tasting at least, will be watching Quarry Hill with interest. Really good value.

Quarry Hill
Price: $A18
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Castagna Genesis Syrah 2005

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I sometimes wonder whether the adaptability of Shiraz to an apparently endless range of regional expressions is a disadvantage. Variety certainly isn’t the issue. But, for someone like me who looks for order and coherence in most things, it can all start to look a bit scattered. Perhaps it seems contradictory to suggest such richness is anything but positive. Certainly, for the wine lover with patience and a well-stuffed wallet, Australian Shiraz on its own offers a world of exploration. 

Victorian Shiraz is my current obsession. From the Grampians to Geelong to Heathcote to Beechworth, there’s an array of styles with little to hold them together. Indeed, the fact they are all Victorian seems purely incidental. So this wine, from Beechworth, is like a bolt from the blue, expressing the most clearly defined idea of Shiraz imaginable, and seeming to set the pace for an entire region. It’s the sort of confidently styled wine I believe we need more of. 
An explosion of complexity on the nose. Meat stock, sour cherries, nougat, smashed black peppercorns, blackberries and ripe canes. There’s a nice balance between the elements, and a nice topography to the aroma profile; unlike some wines that show seamlessness above all else, this wine isn’t afraid to allow its components to stand out. I like its vibe now; in time, perhaps it will show some different, more settled faces. It’s dense and savoury, expressive and perhaps a bit of a show-off, which would be bothersome if it didn’t have such wonderful things to say. 
In the mouth, initially quite tannic. I’ve let it sit in the glass for a couple of hours and, though it remains a structured, tight experience, it is starting to unfold. Give this time. On entry, a freely expressive, textural caress of sour cherry. The middle palate shows stunning complexity; there’s so much going on here and, as with the nose, it’s not seamless so much as intricate and full of tension. Often we value flow and harmony in wine, but this is a lesson in counterpoint, contradiction and angularity. The after palate and finish show a particular glow of fruit and oak that smooth some of the mid-palate’s edges and help the wine to achieve a gentle resolution. A very, very long finish, sour cherry reverberating through a framework of gentle oak and brambles. 
What a fantastic wine.

Castagna
Price: $A85
Closure: Diam
Source: Gift

Rockford Black Shiraz (disgorged 1998)

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I was excited to find this wine; I’ve been eagerly anticipating opening the bottle all week. From what I’ve read over the last decade, I was wondering: would it be a leaky bottle? Would the cork be too small? What would be wrong with it? And thankfully I was not disappointed: I’m now bleeding on the knuckle of my right hand as opening the bottle turned out to be a major production number: the too-small cork was firmly wedged in the bottle, and attempting to remove it using the standard methods resulted in failure along with a broken cork. Skittishly attempting to remove the final inch of it with a regular corkscrew resulted in a sudden burst of pressure and an accidental stabbing. Ouch. So how’s the wine?Thankfully, the wine isn’t dead. I bought this sight unseen, not knowing how old it is: turns out it’s a fairly old bottle. The bead is fairly anemic, but at least it’s still there. The color is an awful lot like American root beer mixed with cranberry juice: alternately nearly brown and occasionally surprisingly translucently black cherry red. It’s pretty, but could also be mistaken for Dr. Pepper.The nose is distinctly old earth, dusty loam with hints of prune, chocolate, and an intriguing mentholated eucalyptus mint note hovers over the glass. On the palate, this isn’t like any red sparkling wine I’ve had before: it’s extremely dramatic, the vinous equivalent of Norma Desmond, beautifully lit from all sides, a wine from another era. At times, it reminds me of extremely old balsamic vinegar or shoyu, with almost caramelized, umami notes. At other times, there’s a refreshing mintiness not unlike some Aussie sparkling chambourcin. The most amazing thing about the wine, however, is how long the finish lasts: minutes. Minutes, I say. Thinking about the wine long after I’ve swallowed it, I find myself thinking of hunting cabins in high meadows, cedar-smoked fire raising smoke in a starry sky, soft Spring flowers withholding the perfume for the morning.This really is a beautiful, profound, satisfying wine in a way few wines ever truly are. More than anything, I can’t think of anything else like it. This has got to be one of the most distinctive Australian wines there is – shame it’s so damn difficult to find. At this rate, I reckon I’ll next taste some shortly after retiring. Ah well!Rockford
Price: $40
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Flaxman Shiraz VP 2008

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I love a nice Aussie Shiraz VP and this is certainly one. As an aside, I generally drink this style as a table wine, with food, and I feel it works tremendously well in this context. I guess that’s why I have a soft spot for some over those overwrought, overripe red table wines that exist between medium bodied sanity and the delicious lunacy that is the Shiraz VP style.

A woollen blanket of aroma, all prickly and comforting. Such dense smells of chocolate, ripe plum, spice, nuts, vanilla and leather. I can’t tell if this is complex or just overwhelming; it’s certainly seamless and expressive. The palate is pure luxe. Quite cool and slippery on entry, it quickly floods the mouth with sweet plum and chocolate, and that unmistakable mouthfeel that goes with 17.5% abv. Aside from abundant flavour, there are equally abundant tannins, silty-fine in character, and a burn of alcohol through the after palate and finish that speaks of decadence rather than imbalance. 
Admittedly, this isn’t a style for everyone, but those who enjoy these wines will find great reward here. Will go for ages.

Flaxman Wines
Price: $A20 (375ml)
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Karra Yerta Bullfrog Flat Eden Valley Shiraz 2005

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There’s a reason why I’ve not posted recently, and it’s not entirely related to a lack of time. I have indeed tasted several wines this week. And they were all crap. Which does wear one down after a while. The point of my drinking, or so I have convinced myself, is to enjoy moments of abstract sensual pleasure. I drink wine for the same reason I listen to music; to hear, feel, disagree, discover. In other words, I drink to experience beauty. So a series of ugly wines gives me absolutely nothing to write other than tiresomely self-reflective introductions like this.

Anyway, it’s Saturday night and I’m worth a good wine. So out popped this sample from my tasting pile, a wine that has been waiting a few months to be experienced. I tasted the companion Barossa Shiraz a few weeks ago and found it intensely pleasurable. So it was with pleasure that my first smells and tastes of this wine revealed a similarly characterful, regionally-driven wine. Which you prefer may simply come down to your passion for one region’s flavour profile over another. 
Fabulous aromas of dirt roads and crushed stone, along with warm blackberries and well-judged, nutty oak. This is one to smell through the course of an entire evening, and to watch duck and weave through its full range of expressions, including the merest hint of aged leather. To be sure, there’s a lot in here, yet it’s not a self-consciously difficult wine. It just is, with a sense of easy, natural vibrancy that speaks both of its origins and its intent. 
Entry brings dense, liqueur-like fruit into focus at the temporary expense of some minerality, but the latter is flung back into the picture on the mid-palate, which is the wine’s high point of complexity. The structure is notable at this point, with firm underlying acidity and plush tannins keeping things in shape without ever seeming like the main event. A bit of vanillan oak pokes out its head through the after palate, but this wine is and remains all about spectacular fruit character; squashed blackberries and stones and dusty summers. 
What a treat. This is easily a $40 wine.

Karra Yerta Wines
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Printhie Shiraz 2008

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Packaging is certainly the goods; nice label and a sensibly weighted bottle. 

The aroma shows gentle spice and a floral element, all wrapped around a heady but slightly confectionary berry fruit mix, with oak aromas that sit in a lump alongside the fruit. There’s plenty of immediacy on offer, even if the aroma profile wears its commercial heart on its sleeve a little much for my liking. To be fair, the spice here is interesting and attractive, and the oak character well matched to it.

Similar contradictions on the palate, which shows a bit much sweetness for me. There’s a slippery viscosity as well, which suggests some Viognier may be part of the mix. Nothing on the bottle to suggest it, though, so who knows? Entry is gentle and flavoursome, with dark berries and icing sugar sweetness continuing through the middle palate, which simplifies its expression to a clean plum jam note and some nutty oak. Some nice tannins and lively, orange juice acidity on the after palate break through an overly glossy mid-palate mouthfeel, before a sappy, slightly astringent finish takes over.
This is a very solid commercial style for not much money; my only wish is that it were more characterful. Orange has the makings of a distinctive cool climate wine region, and as a wine lover I yearn to see that distinctiveness present in all the region’s wines, from top to bottom.

Printhie
Price: $A17
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample