Wine Focus: Quest for elegant Oz Shiraz
Here's a funny thing about Shiraz, the Australian name for Syrah: Whenever I've traveled and judged wine in Australia, and when I read tasting reports that Aussie mates post on our WineLovers' forums, Shiraz almost invariably comes across as an appealing drop. It's robust and full to be sure, but it's generally well balanced and nicely structured with acidity and a bit of flavor and aroma complexity to enhance the fruit.
When I buy Shiraz in the U.S., though, the pricey brands very often come across as huge, monolithic blueberry milkshakes for adults, fruit-forward and loaded with oak, very high in alcohol and surprisingly one-dimensional. More affordable labels tend to shed the musclebound character in favor of a fat-and-happy fruit-bomb sweetness.
What's going on here? Are those crafty Aussies keeping all the Shiraz that I would like back at home for themselves?
Well ... it's not quite that simple, and the good news is that it's possible to find Down Under Shiraz of balance and even elegance. But outside Australia, we may have to do some hunting to find it.
That's the goal of the monthly "Wine Focus" in our online forums for October, wherein wine enthusiasts around the world are invited to seek out, taste and talk about a specific wine in the interest of education and, of course, enjoyment.
If you've been puzzled by "gobby" Shiraz and consider it out of balance, we're hoping that this month's discoveries will come as a pleasant surprise. And even if you enjoy the high-points Shiraz style, I invite you to explore a greater variety of Shiraz styles with us.
Discussions are already well under way. For an excellent overview of suggested producers of more elegant Shiraz and wine regions of interest, click
http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?t=11038
For an initial shopping list, here - listed alphabetically - are a few Australian producers that I've found making wines of good balance and flavor interest: Bests, Leeuwin, Mitchelton, Mount Langhi Ghiran, Plantagenet, Tahbilk, Taltarni, Wirra Wirra and Yering Station.
While the top South Australian Shiraz-producing regions Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale can't be ignored, so much of the wine being exported from those valleys falls into the "points-chasing" style that it's tempting to start looking in other places less known for the blockbuster stuff: Margaret River (and Western Australia in general); Yarra Valley and, a leading region better known for Cabernet Sauvignon than Shiraz, Coonawarra.
For much more about the full breadth of Australian wines, I would encourage a visit to the Website of the Sydney International Wine Competition, where I've been lucky enough to serve as a judge now and then. Wines honored in this noteworthy competition's annual "Top 1OO" are judged first in traditional, analytical flights but then must pass a second test, being judged again in the company of food crafted to match. This approach, which I believe to be unique in international wine competition, celebrates wines meant to go with food in favor of the blockbusters, and its results form as good a guide as you'll find to balanced, food-friendly Australian (and other) wines.
Sydney International Wine Competition,
http://www.top100wines.com
Even if you haven't participated in online forums before, I hope you'll join us from time to time in what promises to be an exceptionally interesting "Wine Focus" during October.
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