Hopefully by the time you read this, things may have picked up.
A mix of Kiwi Syrah and Australian Shiraz today and yet while they are the same grape variety, the climate in their respective places of origin fashions very different red wines.
Plump vs svelte would be hugely oversimplifying it, but there’s no doubt that Barossa Shiraz has some flesh on its bones and cuddly richness to boot.
2018 Elephant Hill Hawke’s Bay Syrah
Price RRP $31
Rating Excellent
Dark and brooding, brown
paper, then baking spices,
tar, olive tapenade and dark
fruits, humus later. Fleshy
and richly fruited, ripe yet
not sweet, perhaps more
medium-bodied than the
nose might infer with
lovely integration and
balance. An attractive
herbal undercurrent,
ink and tar atop the
fruit, a wisp of burnt
butter later. Lots to
enjoy, drinking well
already.
2015 Orlando Centenary Hill Barossa Valley Shiraz
Price RRP $65
Rating Excellent to Outstanding
Fragrant nose with notes
of menthol/eucalypt,
spices and mixed red and
dark fruits, berry compote
later. Sweetly fruited,
yet not overblown,
mouth-filling, powerful
yet ripe tannins and a
fine sense of balance.
Licorice and tilled earth
join the oak spices,
blackberry, blueberry
and darker fruits which
flow to a long, fruit-
filled close.
Sumptuous.
2019 Church Road 1 Single Vineyard Redstone Syrah
Price RRP $90
Rating Excellent to Outstanding
Savoury nuances, a wisp
of funk, an inky quality,
perfumed florality with
mixed red fruits/red
berries. Deceptive power
with firm, grainy tannins
adding a lip-smacking
quality. Redcurrant and
raspberry lead, spices,
oak flavours and dusty
gravels, a little toffee
note later. This swells
in the glass, tannins
melting into the wine.
Seamless. You can
luxuriate in this.
2020 Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Syrah
Price RRP $24.99
Rating Excellent
Sweet, ripe fruits, fragrance
wafting from the glass,
brightness, violets later.
Real juiciness to the fruit
matched by some
attractively mouth-
puckering tannins, this
dances in the mouth
with vibrancy and
energy. Currants,
spices, stony nuances
shifting to a darker fruit
spectrum with a long
finish. A youthful
quality to this, but
lovely drinkability too.
Value here.
2018 Elephant Hill Stone Hawke’s Bay Syrah
Price RRP $59
Rating Outstanding
Fascinating nose. A little
wildness, humus, dark
fruits, perfume, brooding.
Powerful, lots of palate
impact, managing ripe fruit
without overt sweetness, a
perfumed core cosseted
by the powerful tannic
structure, with wisps of
minerals and leather. A
depth and intensity that
draws you back for
more, leaving you
salivating.
Approachable but built
for the future.
2018 Orlando Printz Shed Barossa Valley Shiraz
Price RRP $30
Rating Excellent
Mint and menthol leap from
the glass, vanillin oak,
coconut, perhaps chocolate
and charming fruit. A rush
of red fruits and spices
lead, before the tannins
surge in. Bold, chewy, a
real mouthful here in
classic Aussie shiraz
style. The sweet fruit
hangs in the mouth
developing a savoury
quality as it opens up.
Bold, ripe and eminently
slurpable.
