2004 Elderton Shiraz Barossa

Thanks to a cooling thunderstorm this afternoon, I feel comfortable opening up a big Australian shiraz without having to put it in the fridge first....

Since it has some bottle age on it, the wine has some browning towards the edges, as expected, but the core remains dark and dense. Not quite inky, and it has lost any hint of blue tones, but it is an opaque garnet. The nose is heavily marked by oak, coming across as vanilla, clove, and butter and more than a bit of smoke. There is fruit here, too; dark stewed berries, though, not a fresh fruit in sight. (Or in smell, as it were.) No doubt this is a hot-climate wine. I'm hoping the alcohol doesn't cause me to begin breathing fire.

Huh. This wine is so much bigger and denser in the nose than it is on the palate. I mean, it's not a pinot noir, and there is some hefty alcohol to be sure (no evidence of fire-breathing as yet, though), but I do not get the feeling that I am chewing on a 2x4, nor am I bathing in black cherry pie filling. The wine has a nice balance of toast and black currant fruit, plenty of acidity to give it a lift, and some fine, silky tannins for texture. Yes, the alcohol is high, and I'm getting a little tingle in my tummy from it, but it's not nearly as overpowering as it could be. I think this is going to pair very nicely with the (extremely elegant) dinner I have planned - chili on a baked sweet potato. (Hey, it's healthy.)

Vintage: 2004
Region: Barossa, Australia
Grape: Shiraz
Price: $35

2006 Penfolds Shiraz South Australia Bin 28 Kalimna

This was one of the first wines I bought when I first starting "collecting" wines (I'm not really a collector - I tend to have between 14-17 bottles at any given time - but there are some I'm holding onto so perhaps I qualify as a collector-in-training?). I'm not sure what has moved me to open it tonight, as I have nothing momentous to celebrate, except for the fact that I have a day off tomorrow. A rare and much appreciated occurrence.

Penfolds is the producer responsible for Australia's most expensive wine, Grange. This bottle is from a significantly lower echelon, made from grapes sourced from different areas in Australia, but I expect it will still be a nice wine to sip for the evening. It's a Shiraz, so it's possible it could be a really big wine, but I don't have to go anywhere so the 300% ABV won't be a problem.

It's dense and dark in the glass; not inky purple, but a deep, deep garnet. It's so dark I can't tell if the wine is clear or cloudy, though I feel like I see a hint of turbidity. While the color of the wine is no trifle, the aromas are surprisingly delicate. There's fresh mint, wet stone, blackberries, and a hint of toasty oak. Very attractive. Interestingly, I don't get any of the black pepper and smoky, roasted meats that I often associate with a shiraz or syrah.

In the mouth - this is 100% not the wine I expected it to be. I think I might let it sit and open up a bit more before drinking it, because it's surprisingly muted and tight right now. Aside from the alcohol (which is appreciable), I am not getting much flavor or texture at all, aside from a lingering impression of black olives and anise. The acid levels appear correct, and the bitterness is in proportion to the tannins such as I can sense them. But right now, then wine is just very thin.  I will report back in about an hour.
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So, here we are over 2 hours later, and the wine has opened up only moderately. I have to say, this is probably the most restrained Australian shiraz I have ever tasted. Some smoke did evolve on the nose, and the palate is a hint juicier and the tannins are more apparent, but by far the most prominent element is still the alcohol. All in all, I actually quite like the elegance of this wine; if the alcohol were about 1-1/5% less, it would be a real winner.

Vintage: 2006
Grape: Shiraz
Region: Australia
Price: $26

2009 Schild GMS Barossa

First, to clarify, "GMS" stands for Grenache, Mourvedre, Shiraz," a blend of grapes that is fairly popular in Australia (and to some degree in South Africa). Of course, you see it in sourthern France as well, where it presumably originated, though it isn't Shiraz in France, but Syrah. Same grape, different name.

The wine is a bright ruby in the glass - I'd guess that Grenache composes the greatest percentage of the blend given the color. There's a good deal of characteristically Grenache and Shiras black pepperiness and smoke, in the nose, which I always love, some charred oak (but not too much), some barnyard, and some red chili spice. Unfortunately the fruits on the nose are dark and dense, like stewed prunes or raisins. I suspect they waited a bit too long to harvest these grapes in the hot, sunny Barossa Valley.

My suspicions are supported by the way the wine performs on the palate. The first sensation is one of overwhelming heat. The alcohol burn is intense, even with a hint of residual sugar in the wine (i.e. not all of it was fermented and ended up as alcohol, meaning there had to be a lot of sugar to begin with). The wine is surprisingly acidic, though, making me think the winemakers may have "adjusted" the level of acid. This sort of monkeying is hard to hide; added acid rarely integrates seemlessly into a wine.

Criticisms aside, the fruits are still present in the mouth, albeit overripe tasting, and linger on forever - this wine has one of the longest finishes I've ever experienced. It's not an elegant wine - more a bull than a ballerina - but it's acceptable for what it is. Even bulls have their place in the wine world. Just drink it with a pepper steak and not a filet of salmon.

Vintage: 2009
Grapes: Grenache, Mourvedre, Shiraz
Region: Barossa Valley, Australia
Price: $18

NB I tasted a "GMS" blend from d'Arenberg the other day that cost half as much as this one, and was twice the quality in terms of winemaking prowess. Go for the Stump Jump instead!

2005 Spier Shiraz-Mourvdre-Viognier Western Cape Vintage Selection

The blend of grapes is French (Rhone, to be precise), but the wine is actually from South Africa. Shiraz (only called this in South Africa and Australia - everywhere else it's known as Syrah), Mourvedre, and Viognier (a white grape often blended in with other grapes for its highly aromatic nature) aren't necessarily blended together in the Rhone, but they're all grown there, and I can see where Spier came up with idea of combining them.

Shiraz and Mourvedre share a gaminess, with complimentary red fruits. Shiraz/Syrah is frequently blended with Viognier in the Northern Rhone. They all "like" warmer growing conditions. And they've certainly made a nice wine here.

As a good Shiraz should, this wine has a deep, inky garnet color, with plenty of black pepper, earth, vanilla, and cassis on the nose. There's also an undercurrent of slate and some pronounced cocoa. The cocoa, cassis, and some mellow smoke carry over onto the palate, along with well-balanced acidity and fairly refined tannins. The texture is a little coarse, likely due to the high alcohol (15% ABV! Ouch! though totally characteristic of the grape varietals involved and the Mediterranean climate of the Western Cape). But the wine has quite a long finish and the flavors on the palate continue to evolve in the mouth after the wine has been swallowed (no spitting here!).

Overall, a recommended wine. It's not super cheap ($15-$20), but it's certainly worth the money, I give it an 87.