WINE LIST - All about Shiraz
Shiraz hasn’t always been the flavour of the month with Australian drinkers, but we’ve come to appreciate its rich, fruity taste and soft tannins and it’s now our most popular and best-known wine.
Everyday Drinking
Spicy and bold, this fun, lighthearted wine is an unpretentious red to enjoy with a steak or pizza in the company of friends. Simple flavours of peach with sweet raspberry and a hint of moccha combine to make it a great drop to drink right away. And every bottle sold aids the research and rescue efforts of the Penguin Foundation and Phillip Island Nature Park.
|
|
Special Occasions
This multi-award-winning shiraz displays intense ripe cherry and plum characters, balanced with a natural acidity. There are also overtones of vanilla and subtle tobacco characters leading into a long, persistent finish perfect for a hearty red meat dish. Despite its prestigious heritage, it can be drunk straightaway, which is fine because it would be hard to wait with a wine this good! |
|
Now and Again
Deep red in colour with soft purple hues, this outstanding wine has aromas of blackberry and plum supported by pepper and spice characters on the nose. The rich, round, soft palate shows concentrated berry fruit, complex oak and star anise notes. It’s ready to drink now, and with careful cellaring will continue to improve over the next five years.
|
|
|
Shiraz grapes are characteristically deep purple to black and produce wine that ranges from medium red to rich dark red, though young wines may have a purplish colour that diminishes with age. For a touch of the romantic, its name is said to come from Shiraz, known as the city of flowers, wine and poetry, in the heart of the ancient winemaking region of Persia. Legend has it that a crusader took plants to the Rhone Valley in southern France where he became a hermit and developed a vineyard known as the Hermitage. Shiraz vines planted in the Barossa Valley in the mid-1800s are descendants of this winery and until the 1980s were known as Hermitage. In Australia it’s the principal red variety used to produce fortified and dry red table wines. While many average wines are made from it, some of our finest deep dark reds with intense flavours can also be produced from it.
Usually a medium to full-bodied wine, it has an abundance of fruit sensations giving a sweetness that is balanced by often gripping tannins. The best of these grapes give wines of deep, dark colour, full of chocolate, liquorice and fruit with hot spice and warm alcohol complemented by firm tannins.
When young, Shiraz is a tempting fruity drink, but with cellaring – up to 25 years – matures into a lovely mellow drop.
Grown in both cool and warm climates, the distinctive difference in the tastes of wines from the respective regions gives rise to a good deal of debate on the merits of each. Still, those differences – which offer so much choice to drinkers – may be what ensure its continued popularity.
Tags: drinking :: wine :: special occasion :: Barossa Valley ::
Related Articles
|
