Sunday 28 October 2007

Two cheap shiraz wines that speak of their region

Still staying at a mate's house while the boat is repaired. He's not really into wine but is curious and asked me to help him choose a dozen. Budget was $150 -- I wanted to select wines that are representative of their regions. We had two of them tonight.

I won't dissect these wines in great detail -- know that they are both well-made, quality wines of considerable flavour and character. What I am pleased with, in particular, is that they are identifiably regional and show clear differences in origin. I think it's great that we can purchase wines in the $10-15 range that are very much of their region.

The Seppelt Victoria Shiraz 2004 is all blackberry jam, white pepper and spice. The palate encourages immediate drinking, although the finish, which is lightly drying with powdery tannins, indicates the wine would not die with a year or so in the cellar. But why bother -- it's such nice drinking now. Sensational value.

The Peter Lehmann Barossa Shiraz 2005 is a pretty reliable number year in year out, and this one shows clear differences from the cooler climate Seppelt -- it's a relative fruit bomb, with flavoursome stewed plum-like fruit and sweet American oak the highlights. Soft, generous, medium bodied -- this is easy Barossa shiraz in "by the gulp" mode. This wine doesn't have the structural finesse of the Seppelt, but really, what's not to like here?

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