Wines from South Australia will always loom large in any Australian Shiraz tasting (whether the trend setters like it or not). Predictably, there were more than enough examples of SA Shiraz sampled on the day to put a smile on our face. Brief and scratchy notes are below:
2004 Eileen Hardy Shiraz (McLaren Vale) – beautiful nose – coffee and mocha oak. On the palate super smooth with superb dark fruits with a long finish. Overall a very nice wine.
2008 Mr Riggs Shiraz (McLaren Vale) – nice nose of cedery oak, sweet fruit, and chocolate. More of the typical McLaren Vale bitter chocolate on the palate but not over the top.
2006 Jim Barry McRae Wood Shiraz (Clare Valley) – Elegant, sweet berry fruit nose. Lovely, juicy palate, with some spicy oak and chocolate. Good length.
2007 Chapel Hill Vicar (McLaren Vale) – lovely understated nose of plum, aniseed and some nice oak. Firm tannins and great length on the palate with the typical chocolaty finish.
2008 Shaw & Smith Shiraz (Adelaide Hills) – Lovely perfumed nose of berry fruit and hints of pepper. Nice blueberry fruit on palate, along with more subtle pepper and spice. Nice tannins and length, finishing relatively savoury. Another great result from a winery in good form.
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2 comments:
I'm happy to see a positive review of the 2008 Shaw and Smith Shiraz, which seems to evolving into a benchmark of sorts for me. I've only tried the 2006 and the 2007, and frankly, both were great.
Cheers
Sean
Thanks for your comment Sean. Though we both tasted the Shaw and Smith amongst a few other wines on the day, it was a great result for the vintage (as was the 2007). I agree that their Shiraz is evolving for the better (especially given the current price), and I am very, very excited about the 2009 vintage (for the Barossa and possibly Adelaide Hills). Given Shaw and Smith's Chardonnay over the last few years, they are one of my favourite, most dependable wineries at the moment.
Cheers
Rod
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