Que syrah, syrah. Shiraz will be. It will still be here when we are all gone. It will still be here after humanity is all gone, sucked into its own vortex of corruption, pollution and rape of the land. Er, sorry about that. I got distracted.
Shiraz is the mainstay of the Australian wine business, and will be for the foreseeable future. This month I’ve uploaded another 160-odd shiraz tasting notes. Tasting this many shirazes every few weeks would be a bore, if the standard wasn’t so high. The truth is, the standard is always dependably solid and there are many highlights - in many different styles, usually (but not always) corresponding to region.
At the cool ‘n peppery end of the spectrum we have such wonderfully fine shirazes as the 2012 Yarra Yering wines, particularly the Underhill (tasting), while the Dry Red Wine No 2 (a shiraz-based four-way blend - tasting) is also very good.
On the other hand we have the South Australian blockbusters such as Two Hands (tastings), which has released a quartet of single vineyard, single sub-region Barossa (and one McLaren Vale - tasting) $100 shirazes in its trademark opulent, extravagant style. Each to his/her own taste.
The superb 2012s are the highlight of the tasting, but the 2013s, which are starting to come through, are possibly just as outstanding. Witness Shaw +Smith (tasting), S.C. Pannell (the Jimmy Watson Trophy winner - tasting) and Karrawatta Dairy Block (tasting) – all from the Adelaide Hills. And Timo Mayer’s Mayer Big Betty (Yarra Valley - tasting), Grove Estate Cellar Block (Hilltops - tasting) and Peppertree’s Coquun (tasting) and Tallawanta reserve (tasting) bottlings show that the 2013 weather gods spread their favours around generously where shiraz was concerned.
The top shirazes were undoubtedly Henschke’s magnificent Mount Edelstone 2012 (tasting), Seppelt St Peters 2012 (tasting), the Peppertree 2013 duo, and Seppeltsfield’s Uber Shiraz 2012 (tasting), a $150 bottle which should not be opened for many years and will seemingly live forever. For the bargain hunters, Deen De Bortoli Vat 8 Shiraz 2013 ($13 - tasting) and Oxford Landing Shiraz 2013 ($9 - tasting) won’t disappoint.