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Premium Shiraz |
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Tuesday, 27 March 2007 |
Reported by Dawn Harvie
I was very excited to have the chance to attend a Guild event since it has been quite some months now! I am enjoying Montreal tremendously (and am trying to do my fair share of wine tasting), but I do miss these Guild events and all of my Guild friends! Guild Director Robert White did a great job of selecting premium Shiraz! Of course, as most Guild wine tastings, this one was blind.
The first flight was the “cheap” flight. Even so, I wouldn’t have turned down any of these wines if offered a glass. The Henschke Johann’s Garden is a blend of 73% Grenache, 17% Shiraz and 10% Mouvedre. It had lots of fresh red fruit (cherry and raspberry) in the nose that followed through on the palate along with lots of acidity and a medium body. It was the least favourite because it lacked the complexity and balance that a couple of the others had. The Richard Hamilton (a 53% Grenache, 47% Shiraz blend) had some mint, coffee/chocolate, and cherry cough syrup notes. In the mouth there was more blueberry and tobacco as well as acidity and mid-weight tannins. The Rolf Binder is a blend of 55% Shiraz and 45% Mataro, is called “Bull’s Blood” in Australia, and is Rolf Binder’s flagship wine. This wine, which was the second favourite, had some jammy notes along with spice, herbs, and some earthiness. On the palate, it had a lovely herbaceousness with vanilla oak, and dark berry fruit. It also had lots of alcohol, acidity, and tannins. The favourite of the flight by a good margin was the last wine—the Henscheke Henry’s Seven. One or two people in the group thought this might have been a Cabernet Sauvignon, or at least thought it had some Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, but in fact had the most Shiraz of the four wines in the flight. This wine was quite complex. On the nose, there was some mint and herbaceous notes as well as good, but subtle, dark fruit, and some tobacco. In the mouth, there was some herbaceous flavours, with some green notes, lots of dark fruit, tobacco, good acidity, and great length. And of the four, the price of this wine was the best in terms of price-quality ratio.
The second flight featured another four interesting wines, but again, as for the first flight, there was one wine that seemed to please more than the others. That was the Katnook Estate Prodigy Shiraz. This wine was very complex with it’s nose of herbs (including dill), spice, floral notes, red fruit, and meaty flavours. In the mouth, it had all of those flavours with lots of big fruit flavours. It had great balance. The Richard Hamilton Centurion had mint and red berry fruit and seemed quite simple for the price. It was certainly an easy drinking wine, but most of us expect more from a $45 wine. The Penley Estate Shiraz was a little like a Cabernet Sauvignon with it’s herbaceous and vegetal notes, but did have some spice and berry fruit as well as a smooth mouth-feel. The Mitolo Shiraz was probably one of the most elegant wines of the flight. It was very dark in colour with a milky, meaty, perfumey nose. On the palate, it had some of those earthy notes (the milky and meaty aromas), as well as dark fruit, a full body, tannins, and a little bitterness that often comes from high toast barrels.
The last flight featured the heavy hitters. I don’t know how many of us were expecting the Grange to be included in this flight, but I know I was and I was not disappointed. This time, it was the favourite of the flight by a nose. (It has not always done so well when it has been featured in other Guild tastings, keeping of mind that the other wines in a flight can affect the profile of any of the wines in the flight) The votes in this flight were more evenly divided amongst the four wines. Speaking of favourites, a Guild regular, Rod Story asked that we vote twice—once for the wine we liked for right now and once for the wine we’d like to lay down. Of course, me, being ever the optimist where wine is concerned said that I would lay down with any of these wines right now! The first wine of this flight was the Grant Burge Meshach Shiraz from the Filsell Vineyard (where the vines are almost 100 years old) at $87. It was quite fruity, but with some earthy complexity and smokey notes. In the mouth, there was big fruit (including raspberry), some mint, earth, spice, tobacco, cedar, and leather. A nice wine. This wine also had quite a bit of sediment, so there was some debate over how long it would cellar. I’m not making any predications—I can tell you it was drinking quite fine this night!! The Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz gave off notes of dark black fruit, mint, and pepper. In the mouth, it had the fruit, the spice, and the pepper. Some also likened it to a pizza with notes of green (green pepper), sundried tomatoes, and black olives. The Mount Edelstone Vineyard was planted around 1912 and is considered one of Australia’s great single vineyards. The Penfolds Grange had big black fruit, coffee, and chocolate on the nose. In the mouth, there was much the same with the addition of some spice, young tannins, and high alcohol. This wine also had nice balance. Robert Parker gave this wine a 98+ and said that it could be cellared until 2038! The Grange was the favourite of the flight by a single vote. The second favourite was the RWT Shiraz from Penfolds at $119 (versus the Grange at $300). It had quite a perfumey nose with great complexity—dark fruit, perfume, mocca, chocolate, and cedar and sandalwood. It was really lovely. Someone described it as having “everthing that a Port has and everything that a Bordeaux has, but all in the same glass”.
Thanks, Robert, for choosing such great wines and hosting this event.
Flight 1
- Henschke Johann’s Garden Grenache/Mouvedre/Shiraz, 2003 (RP 90) 946061 $49
- Richard Hamilton Burton’s Vineyard Old Bush Vine Grenache/Shiraz, 2003 (RP 92) 722512 $40
- Rolf Binder Shiraz/Mataro Hubris, 2003 (RP 94) 174 $52
- Henscheke Henry’s Seven, 2003 (RP 92) 685578 $39
Flight 2
- Richard Hamilton Centurion 110-Year-Old Vine Shiraz, 2002 (RP 93) 729020 $45
- Penley Estate Shiraz Special Select, 2002 (RP 95) 627943 $59
- Katnook Estate Prodigy Shiraz, 2002 (AG 95) 742395 $69
- Mitolo Shiraz G.A.M., 2004 (RP 97) 596031 $55
Flight 3
- Grant Burge Meshach Shiraz, 2001 (WS 94) 700310 $87
- Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz, 2002 (RP 96) 718601 $109
- Penfolds Grange, 2001 (RP 98+) 336388 $300
- RWT Shiraz Penfolds, 2003 (RP 96) 564278 $119
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 10 April 2007 )
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Moderation |
 The National Capital Sommelier Guild strongly supports moderate and responsible consumption of wine and spirits. Guild dinner events allow a designated driver to attend at a reduced price. The designated driver will not be served alcohol. Guild tasting events provide and encourage the use of spit buckets. |
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"Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance."
— Benjamin Franklin
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