Tasting Report: Shiraz/Syrah & Blends – The Second Coming

This is the second tranche of notes from our recent forage into Australian Shiraz, or as many producers in cooler regions are now calling the grape, Syrah. Click here for all the blogs, videos and other content from our Aussie Tasting Road Trip in search of #realaussiewine.

When people use Syrah instead of Shiraz, it usually indicates the lifted floral and peppery expressions from cool granitic regions, including the Yarra Valley, Great Southern and Beechworth, rather than the riper styles from the likes of Barossa and McLaren Vale. 

Even in these warmer GI's (Geographic Indicators), there is a concerted effort to obviate the sheer force of fruit of yesteryear by attaining physiological ripeness at lower alcohols, fermenting with whole clusters for complexity and balancing tannins, and by blending Mourvedre, or Mataro as it is also known, with Shiraz and Grenache in varying amounts. Mataro imbues ferruginous tannins, minerality and natural acidity, inherent to its Mediterranean voice.

There is also a wide respect for organic and biodynamic principles, especially in McLaren Vale, where sustainable viticulture is widespread.

Thus while Shiraz is not necessarily taking a backseat in Barossa – apt given its old vine heritage and inextricable binds to the regional brand – there is general acknowledgment that a dollop of Mourvedre, or Mataro, in a blend brings poise, and that Shiraz alone may not be the only option for the future. McLaren Vale, on the other hand, is rife with a contagious creativity and superb old vine Grenache, grown on sandy soils at altitude. Stay tuned for a later report.

At the same time, the Yarra in particular, but also Western Australia's Great Southern, is a hotbed of experimentation among a febrile group of young winemakers, versed in the classics, and yet confident that what they are doing has a great future. We like Syrah from these two areas!

Given the compelling wines from the likes of Jamsheed in the Yarra, and far away in the desolate yet achingly beautiful Great Southern, La Violetta and Xabregas, the quality is not to be doubted! All of these makers are crafting riveting wines with a solid portion of whole clusters, judicious to marginal SO2 additions and very modest alcohols of 12.5 percent to, at the most, 14 percent. These Syrahs and blends are, without any doubt, among the finest examples of the idiom in the world and deserved to be part of any intelligent collector's swag. 

In other words, buy, drink, and enjoy the top scorers if you can find them! 

Click here for our first report on Aussie Shiraz and Syrah. Below are also listed the top 11 wines from that report, which scored 95 points or more. One received 100 points. In addition, a list of the wines scoring less than 90 points is listed. Complete tasting notes of those wines are searchable. – Ned Goodwin MW and James Suckling 

 

Wines receiving marks of 95 points or more from the first report:

2009 Jasper Hill Shiraz Heathcote Georgia’s Paddock 100 points 2007 Tyrrells Hunter Shiraz Old Patch 1867 98 points 2008 Giaconda Shiraz Beechworth Warner Vineyard 96 points 2006 Sutton Grange Winery Syrah Bendigo Sutton Grange 96 points 2009 Brokenwood Wines Shiraz Hunter Valley Graveyard Vineyard 95 points 2008 Castagna Syrah Beechworth Genesis 95 points 2010 Jamsheed Syrah Yarra Valley Jamsheed Silvan  95 points 2010 Luke Lambert Shiraz Yarra Valley 95 points 2006 Syrahmi Syrah Heathcote Syrahmi La La 95 points 2009 Thomas Wines Shiraz Hunter Valley Motel Blocl 95 points 2007 Tyrrells Wines Hunter Valley 4 Acres 95 points 2007 Tyrrells Wines Hunter Valley Stevens 95 points 2007 Tyrrells Wines Hunter Valley Vat 9 95 points

 

Also tasted, but not receiving marks of 90 points or more:

2009 Coriole Shiraz McLaren Vale The Soloist Single Vineyard 2009 Hentley Farm Shiraz Barossa Valley The Beast 2007 Hobbs Shiraz Barossa Valley  2010 Innocent Bystander Yarra Valley Mea Culpa Shiraz 2009 Juniper Estate Shiraz Margaret River  2008/9 Massena Shiraz Barossa The Eleventh Hour 2008 Maverick Shiraz Barossa Parkview 2009 Mistletoe Wines Shiraz Hunter Valley Reserve 2008 Oakridge  Yarra Valley Oakridge Shiraz 2009 Palmer Shiraz Margaret River  2007 Penfolds Shiraz South Australia St. Henri 2009 Pikes Shiraz Clare Valley The E.W.P 2009 Poonawatta Shiraz Eden Valley The Cuttings 2009 Saltram Shiraz Barossa Mamre Brook 2008 Seraph's Crossing Shiraz Clare Valley  2010 Seville Estate Shiraz Yarra Valley Seville Estate Od Vine Reserve 2009 Sons of Eden Shiraz Barossa Valley Zephyrus 2006 Tahbilk Shiraz Nagambie Lakes Eric Stevens Purbrick 2010 Thomas Wines Shiraz Hunter Valley DJV 2007 Torbreck Shiraz Barossa Valley Descendant 2009 Witchmount Shiraz Sunbury Lowen Park 2009 Brown Hill Shiraz Cabernet Margaret River Bill Bailey 2009 Charles Melton Shiraz Barossa The Kirche 2003 Hobbs Shiraz Barossa Valley  2009 Howard Park Shiraz Margaret River Leston 2007 Juniper Estate Shiraz Margaret River  2009 Kilikanoon Shiraz Clare Valley Attunga 1865 2008 Kooky Village Shiraz Barossa Valley  2010 Leogate Estate Wines Shiraz Hunter Valley Reserve 2008 Marchand & Burch Shiraz Margaret River  2009 Mc Williams Mount Pleasant Hunter Valley Phil Ryan Mount Pleasant Shiraz 2009 Peter Lehmann Shiraz Barossa Portrait Shiraz 1999 Peter Lehmann Shiraz Barossa Stonewell 2009 Pooles Rock Shiraz Hunter Valley Estate Grown  2009 Samuel's Gorge Shiraz McLaren Vale  2009 Schwarz Shiraz Barossa Nitschke Block 2009 Shadowfax Shiraz Heathcote One Eye 2006 Shingleback Shiraz McLaren Vale D Block Reserve 2009 St Hallett Shiraz Barossa Valley Blackwell  2010 Tower Shiraz Hunter Valley  2008 Wolf Blass Shiraz Barossa Valley Platinum Label 2008 Burge Family Winemakers Shiraz Barossa Valley Draycott 2008 Chateau Tanunda Shiraz Barossa Valley Grand Barossa 2008 Chateau Tanunda Shiraz Barossa Valley Nobile Baron 2008 Chateau Tanunda Shiraz Barossa Valley The Chateau 2010 Kalleske Shiraz Barossa Valley Moppa 2010 Kalleske Shiraz Barossa Valley Greenock 2007 Mistletoe Shiraz Hunter Valley Mistletoe Grand Reserve Reserve 2008 Nashwauk Shiraz McLaren Vale  2009 Peppertree Shiraz Hunter Valley Peppertree Tallawanta 2008 Peter Lehmann Shiraz Barossa Valley Stonewell 2009 Schwarz Shiraz Barossa Valley The Dust Kicker 2008 St Hallet Shiraz Barossa Valley Blackwell 2008 Tahbilk Shiraz Nagambie Lakes  2010 Tim Smith Wines Shiraz Barossa Valley  2009 Torbreck Shiraz Barossa Valley The Celts