Two cheap Hunter reds

I put together a fairly inexpensive dozen the other day, and in amongst it were two Hunter shirazes from the 2003 vintage. We had them back to back so they were easy to compare.

Tyrrell's Stevens Shiraz 2003

Fuller bodied than a lot of Hunter shiraz but certainly a wine of its region. The flavour profile on this wine is a notch darker than a lot of shiraz from this area, perhaps owing to the drought affected vintage. I found the nose quite dumb, with a whiff of dark fruits and barnyard. It's on the palate that this wine hits you, with concentrated dark fruit flavours of the most attractive purity (sort of blueberryish), along with regional flavours of dirt and stink. Nice acidity and tannins, nothing out of balance. A chunky yet sophisticated wine in the mouth, substantial and slippery at the same time. Really enjoyed this one, it has a lot of personality.

Mount Pleasant Philip 2003

This wine is in what I understand to be a more traditional Hunter shiraz style, in that it is medium bodied, with bright red berry flavours placed within a predominantly savoury flavour profile of dust/dirt and barnyard. Really very aromatic and expressive, this wine is totally consistent from nose to palate. I think this wine showed more complexity than the Stevens (pretty awesome considering it's half the price), without perhaps the same concentration of flavour. I loved it. Usually the Philip is a bit lame but this one is great.