Expert’s choice: Premium Australian Shiraz

Millions of people are currently gripped by Rugby World Cup fever, captivated by battles occurring across Japan until 2 November. Wine and rugby are both high on my list of passions, and it is this global celebration of the game which made me think about how both have changed over the years.

I played rugby more than three decades ago, and while there were some big lads on the pitch, there was room for some of us smaller, lighter, nimbler guys to make our mark. Team photos show a remarkable range of physical specimens, from little tiddlers, to beanpoles and strongmen, to rather chubby types.

Looking at the physical stats of the players today, it seems every position is filled with extraordinarily tall, heavy and yet fit and fast monsters. It occurred to me that Australia’s most important red-wine class, Shiraz, used to conform to type – big, inky, oaky, weighty, high in alcohol and packing a memorable punch. Back in the 1980s, Australian Shiraz was as universally powerful as the members of all international rugby teams today.What I find amazing though is that, as time has slipped by and Australia has embraced the diversity of its soil and microclimates, a one-size-fits-all Shiraz message simply doesn’t exist now. As you will see in my list of 18 wines, I have a veritable ’80s rugby team line-up (plus substitutes). These days, every shape and size of Shiraz – and indeed Syrah, for those who like to emphasise the tenderness of their wine – is made Down Under.

While Old Bastard and The Beast sound like they are part of a terrifying squad of elite sporting cyborgs, they are nothing of the sort. Both wines are sumptuous and layered with generous, velvety fruit. Grange itself ought to be the most muscular and imposing member of my team, given its reputation and huge wage bill, but it is a far more considered wine than you might imagine.

Matthew Jukes’ Aussie Shiraz team from most nimble (1) to most intense (18) – reviews below

1: Innocent Bystander Syrah

2: Payten & Jones nMajor Kong Syrah

3: Tyrrell’s 4 Acres Shiraz

4: The Story R Lane Vintners Westgate Vineyard Shiraz

5: Mount Langi Ghiran Langi Shiraz

6: Clonakilla Shiraz-Viognier

7: Oliver’s Taranga Vineyards Shiraz

8: Chapel Hill The Vicar Shiraz

9: d’Arenberg The Dead Arm Shiraz

10: Tim Smith Wines Shiraz

11: Sons of Eden Marschall Shiraz

12: Glaetzer Anaperenna

13: Hentley Farm The Beast Shiraz

14: First Drop The Cream

15: Kaesler Old Bastard

16: Torbreck Descendant

17: Jim Barry The Armagh Shiraz

18: Penfolds Grange

It goes without saying that Innocent Bystander sounds like he might be the perfect touch judge, not wanting to get involved on the field of conquest, but this is the definitive fly-half wizard of yesteryear. I’d argue that this wine is the epitome of Welsh legend Jonathan Davies: 5 foot 7 inches tall, 12 stone and a man who could dance around any opposition player at will.

Endeavouring to avoid any English bias, I’m lucky to know Wallaby legend Michael Lynagh well, and it never ceases to amaze me that this man – whom I regard as one of the greats, given that I played in the same position as he did – is a little shorter and a lot lighter than I am. Size and shape, weight and height was not the be all and end all in old-fashioned rugby and it is largely irrelevant in today’s Australian Shiraz scene.

Fruit quality and intensity of flavour, coupled with length and completeness, are all characters which are valued over alcohol, oak, inkiness and brawn. The wines below all prove that point.

Matthew Jukes’ top 18 Australian Shiraz