Home > Vintages and Regions > Other Wines > Australian Shiraz

Australian Shiraz

Australia has a fabulous wine heritage, and in fact many of the original wine styles were fortified wines often made using Muscat. Despite this Australia is now best known for her table wines, and if there is one grape with which there has been great success it has been Shiraz. From easy drinking, great value wines up to iconic bottles such as Penfolds Grange and Jim Barry's Armagh, there is a bottle for every occasion.

Shiraz is produced in all the important wine regions, but the original styles were the massive Barossa Shiraz from the likes of Peter Lehmann and Yalumba, versus the complex, sweaty, leathery wines of the Hunter Valley from the likes of Tyrell's. With such success though it was inevitable that winemakers elsewhere would plant this vine in their vineyards too. From the Barossa Valley it didn't have far to move to McLaren Vale, or to Clare Valley where Tim Adams is based, but there are also excellent styles available from as far away as the Margaret River region in Western Australia and, of course, the brilliant wines of Ron Laughton of Jasper Hill in Victoria. (6/3/01)

Australian Shiraz - Tasting Notes

Tasted in September 2004. Click to locate stockists:

Elderton Shiraz (Barossa, SA) 1994: A dark, dense core but a wide, red, maturing rim. Meaty, animalistic nose, stale coffee and toffee. Opens out to reveal saddle leather and redcurrant jelly character. Full, very spicy tannins on hte midpalate. A touch creamy. Dark, brawny fruit. A little sweetness on the finish. Really rounded, leathery, pastille-like fruit. Good. Drink over the next five years. 15/20

Wirra Wirra RSW Shiraz (McLaren Vale, SA) 1994: Dark core fading to a pink rim. Dark, macerated fruit, sweet blackcurrant conserve, with perfumed violets on the nose. Round, supple, ripe tannins and a little spice. Good sense of extract. Full, creamy towards the finish. Balanced. 15/20

Jasper Hill Georgia's Paddock (Heathcote, Victoria) 1994: Dark core fading a little at the rim. Brooding, crushed blackberry fruit nose. Oak here too, sweet yet sweaty and leathery. Exotic spices. The palate is pure, focussed and balanced, with concentration and structure showing on the midpalate. Very supple and fluid ripe and spicy. Brilliant quality. Needs five years. Showing much better than my last tasting. 17+/20

Jim Barry The Armagh Shiraz (Clare Valley, SA) 1994: Dark. Serious, dense, mint and dark chocolate nose, with sweet blackcurrant pastille character and a little roasted herb. Creamy, very ripe, supple and succulent. More mint and chocolate here. Super ripe tannins with a spicy, exotic quality. Vibrant and super quality. Showing much more classic style than my last tasting. Needs five years yet. 17+/20

Mountadam Patriarche (Eden Valley, SA) 1994: Vibrant hue. Animal, horse manure, metallic nose suggestive of Brett. But also piles of classic eucalyptus alongside the fruit. Rounded. Creamy. Balanced. Supple tannins but with a firm bite. Plenty of fruit still. Really very good. Drink over the next five years. 16/20

Tatachilla Foundation Shiraz (McLaren Vale, SA) 1994: Dense colour out to the rim. Obvious sweet, burnt toffee oak on the nose. The palate is quite concentrated, with sweet raspberry fruit, but also smoky toffee oak. Ripe, supple tannins. Ready now. 16/20

Leasingham Classic Clare (Clare Valley, SA) 1994: Pure, glossy colour. A dense, concentrate and exotic nose. Quite incredible, with eucalyptus, beetroot, pickling spices and soot. Very complex. An elegant and concentrated palate. Still some tannins but they are supple and ripe. Warm, rounded, very welcoming and voluptuous. Delicious exotic finish. Strawberry notes. Impressive finish. Extraordinarily good quality. So lovely it can be drunk now, but will certainly improve for some time in the cellar. 18.5+/20

Tasted in March 2001:

Tim Adams Aberfeldy (Clare Valley, SA) 1995: Incredible, opaque purple colour. Initially, like many of the wines, the nose is all sweet blackcurrant and blackberry pastilles, with other complexities developing as the wine aerates in the glass. The nose evolves into a minty, menthol-laden affair, with a rich seam of chocolate. A really smooth palate, rich with more chocolate and mint. Notable acids with a green fruit characteristic, later on a touch sherbetty. The tannins and acid are more prominent on the big, chewy finish. Good length. 17/20

Leasingham Classic Clare (Clare Valley, SA) 1995: A rich, opaque, inky red wine. Seems a little sweaty and leathery at first, but this fades, leaving rich fruit and toasty oak. Another rich, glycerol-laden palate. Quite tannic, packed with fruit, and notable acidification on the forepalate. Interesting coffee and dark chocolate complexity. Spicy finish leading into a good length. 17/20

Peter Lehmann Stonewell (Barossa Valley, SA) 1992: This wine, although similarly opaque, is a dark red hue. A rich nose, initially black berry fruits, but then more chocolate and mint, although less obvious than the previous wine. Develops coconutty American oak aromas. Ripe fruit on the palate, tannic but elegant and finely structured, with good acidity. Clean finish. This wine seems less oaky than more recent vintages of the Stonewell - perhaps it has just had more time to integrate. 17/20

Yalumba Octavius (Barossa Valley, SA) 1993: Like all the remaining wines in this flight, this is a dense, dark, opaque wine. Gorgeous nose here - raspberries and cream, black Shiraz fruit and black pepper. On the palate a combination of very typical ripe black fruits, good oak, and a creamy, luscious texture. Tannins and acidity prominent and provide structure. 17/20

Tyrell's Vat 9 (Hunter Valley, New South Wales) 1993: Less opaque than the other wines, a red purple hue. Smoky, rich fruit on the nose, lots of toffee oak and some reported cloves. With time develops an earthy aroma which sets it apart from the other wines in this flight. On the palate it has big, green tingling acidity. Has less body than the other wines (which is no bad thing) and earthy fruit. More obvious green acidity on the finish. To me it seems a bit disjointed and/or over-acidified, but others praise it. 14/20

Tatachilla Foundation (McLaren Vale, SA) 1995: Almost opaque red-black wine. The nose is laden with toffee oak and rich, ripe fruit. The palate is hugely oak-dominated, packed to the brim with ripe fruit, prominent acidity and big tannins. It has a sweet, full, glycerol-laden texture. Some black pepper. Tremendous length. The typical award-winning over-the-top structure should have suggested to me it was the Tatachilla - winner of the Jimmy Watson Trophy when released. 17.5/20

Rosemount Balmoral Syrah (McLaren Vale, SA) 1994: Another dense wine. A big nose of chocolate and fruit, with a stylish, elegant, perfumed edge. An impressive mixture of fruit and acidity, with less prominent tannins. 17/20

Jim Barry Armagh (McLaren Vale, SA) 1994: Another opaque wine. Rich, also vegetal and stinky nose. Loaded with red and black fruits on the palate. Softer than the previous wine, with a more advanced integration of the tannins. Lovely structure, a massive wine. 18/20

Penfolds Grange (South Australia) 1993: Very dense and opaque. A stinky, complex, vegetal and undergrowth nose. Aromas of beetroot and spices, with a layer of rich, sweet blackcurrant fruit. This is a huge, multifaceted wine. The palate has big tannins, firm acidity, and is very rich, with layers of fruit. Undoubtedly this is Grange. 18.5/20

Jasper Hill Georgia's Paddock (Heathcote, Victoria) 1994: Quite opaque. Restrained on the nose. Opens out a little, giving some red and black fruit gum sweetness. Raspberry and coffee flavours on the palate, with some toffee oak. Rich, balanced, quite elegant. A delicious wine, but somewhat overshadowed in this company. 16/20