Haselgrove Bentwing Shiraz 1999

Haselgrove Bentwing Shiraz (Wrattonbully) 1999: The Haselgrove winery, situated in the McLaren Vale in South Australia, has carved a niche in the Australian fine wine market with the Haselgrove 'H' series since the winery was created in 1981. At the time of writing Nick Haselgrove is at the helm, and he is responsible for the Bentwing wines, exploiting the relatively new plantings of vines in the Wrattonbully region, neighbouring the more famous Coonawarra in South Australia. The wine is a vibrant garnet colour, with plentiful aromas of chocolate, coffee, mulberry and blackberry. Despite the rich bouquet it has a fairly elegant texture on the palate, with a moderate weight and soft berry fruits. There are some drying, chalky tannins that show on the finish, and these perhaps need a little more time to integrate fully. Although this is a wine that will keep and may improve for a year or two, I can see no reason why it shouldn't be purchased for current drinking. Very good. (2/10/01)