Time to try cool-climate Australian Shiraz
Tina Gellie seeks out cool-climate Australian Shiraz...
Shiraz (or ‘Syrah’) is Australia’s most widely planted variety and the biggest concentration can be found in the Barossa Valley, where the warm climate and winemaking trends helped to establish Aussie Shiraz’s ‘blockbuster’ reputation for power, intensity of jammy fruits, and alcohol through the 1990s and early 2000s.But if you think that’s all this variety offers downunder, you’re very much mistaken, as plantings in cooler areas produce wines of elegance, balance and freshness that will reconfigure how you think of the variety in Australia. And they’re gaining in popularity as consumers seek out more food-friendly, complex, ageable wines.
Below are some of the most interesting examples discovered by Tina Gellie at the recent Australia Day tasting organised by Wine Australia.
Cool-climate Shiraz to try:
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Eden Road, The Long Road Syrah, Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia, 2015
A minimal-intervention, cool-climate Syrah whose first vintage (2008) won Australia's most prestigious red wine prize. This is elegant yet intense, with flavours of macerated cherry,...
2015
Eden RoadGundagai
Halls Gap Estate, Fallen Giants Shiraz, Grampians, Victoria, Australia, 2014
The Grampians deserves to be better known for its high-altitude, cool-climate Shiraz. Here, fruit from a single vineyard of 1969-planted vines on ancient rocky soils...
2014
Halls Gap EstateGrampians
Jim Barry, Single Vineyard Watervale Shiraz, Clare Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2016
The Barry family is synonymous with the Clare Valley – and great Shiraz. Following in the footsteps of The Armagh, McRae Wood and Lodge Hill,...
2016
Jim BarryClare Valley
Leeuwin Estate, Siblings Shiraz, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia, 2016
The Horgan family was one of the winemaking pioneers of Margaret River back in 1973, and while known more for Chardonnay and Cabernet, their Shiraz...
2016
Leeuwin EstateMargaret River
Lobethal Road, Shiraz, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia, 2015
The simple labels used here reflect the minimal-intervention approach taken at this family winery, founded in 1998. Gentle cigar-box and autumnal tones give complexity to...
2015
Lobethal RoadAdelaide Hills
Ministry Of Clouds, Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia, 2017
Fruit from the McLaren Vale's famed 1962-planted, dry-farmed Blewitt Springs vineyard is blended with grapes from Julian Forwood and Bernice Ong's own young Seaview vines...
2017
Ministry Of CloudsMcLaren Vale
Tim Adams, Schaefer Shiraz, Clare Valley, South Australia, Australia, 2013
For fans of a more 'old-school' style of Aussie Shiraz, this will hit the spot. Kept back for five years before release, this is drinking...
2013
Tim AdamsClare Valley
Yangarra Estate, PF Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia, 2017
Yangarra is a biodynamic estate that specialises in Rhône varietals. This is the entry-level Shiraz from a block of 18- to 22-year-old vines on the...
2017
Yangarra EstateMcLaren Vale
Dowie Doole, Moxie Sparkling Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia
Sparkling Shiraz is a real 'Vegemite' style but this is worth a try. The base fizz is a blend of old-vine Shiraz from vintages back...
Dowie DooleMcLaren Vale
Between Five Bells, Red Blend, Pyrenees, Victoria, Australia, 2015
A quirky Shiraz, of which half is 100% whole-bunch fermented and the other half is co-fermented in a 3,000-litre cuve with Negroamaro and Pinot Noir...
2015
Between Five BellsPyrenees
