GT Wine Tope Tasting Barossa Shiraz

8 Danks street, Sydney
Tasted Wednesday, July 4, 2018 by chatters with 265 views

Introduction

Another Peter Bourne tasting, this time with a selection of Barossa Shiraz…

Flight 1 - Bracket one - Southern Grounds (5 Notes)

Nothing to truly excite here.

Flight 2 - Bracket two - Northern Grounds (11 Notes)

the most concentrated fruit was to be found in this bracket for me. A couple of the wines were pretty handy: The tscharke gnadenfrei, torbreck and standish...

  • 2015 Tomfoolery Shiraz Artful Dodger Seppeltsfield

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    reductive and slightly jammy toasted black berry, sweet spice, a little vanilla…it's tangy, juicy and more restrained on the palate, firm drying but quite silky tannins. Okay.

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  • 2013 Epsilon Shiraz 1994 Greenock

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    Concentrated red and black berry fruit, very slight jubey notes as well, some lightweight peppery spice. Juicy, tangy, quite black fruit here; touches of blackcurrant as well. Chalky tannins. Okay.

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  • 2016 Tscharke Shiraz Marananga Gnadenfrei Vineyard

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    slightly meaty, savoury, wild blackberry, a little earthy as well. Sweetly spiced. In the mouth it's juicy with jubey black fruit, finishes a little spicy with chalky, tight, tannins. Young but pleasant.

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  • 2015 Two Hands Shiraz Bella's Garden

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    Over-ripe blackberry and plum, touches of prunes as well, plenty of sweet and savoury spice, cedar, cream. Thick and almost off dry, tight black fruits and tannins with slight peppery spice. Big. Not for me.

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  • 2016 Torbreck Shiraz The Struie

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa

    After the last wine this is medium minus intensity aroma showing black berry, herbs, slightly meaty notes, peppery spice…nice nose. Sweet and savoury black fruit on the palate, floury tannins, young and shows promise.

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  • 2015 Hentley Farm Shiraz The Beast

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    Concentrated slightly reductive blackberry, rich fruit cake nose with sweet spice as well. And so it proves on the palate; overly ripe with tight tannic grip, chocolate, cream and alcohol heat on the finish. Meh.

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  • 2015 The Standish Wine Company Shiraz The Schubert Theorem

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    Meaty and savoury, slight farmyard and almost earthy over blackberry & cherry and polished cedar. On the palate concentrated fruit but juicy, savoury with touches of yeast extract and oddly stealthy tannins that start as a low background hum and grows considerably more gritty and persistent lend the fruit lots of length. Young but very good.

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  • 2015 Yalumba Shiraz Paradox

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    a little wild ferment funkiness over wild blackberry, sweet spice, smells 'fresh'….it's juicy and equally fresh on the palate, pretty jubey fruit, soft tannins, difficult to spit. Very approachable.

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  • 2015 Kalleske Shiraz Johann Georg

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    Reductive concentrated, slightly anonymous, sweet black fruit, spice. And so it proves on the palate. Nah.

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  • 2015 Penfolds Shiraz Bin 150 Marananga

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    Densely concentrated savoury black fruits and polished oak. A little toast, caramel and sweet spice. On the palate it's a little sharp initially then sweet black fruit and a bucket of unwieldy, brutally, tight tannin closes things down though a little fruit persists in an alcoholic haze. Ouch.

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  • 2014 Teusner Shiraz The FG Righteous

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    Biscuit, slight toast, sweet spice, over blackberry and a slight saline note. Juicy and a little jubey with plenty of spice married to the black fruit. Tannins are gritty but quite controlled or, even, muted. Hmm.

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Flight 3 - Bracket three - Central Grounds (8 Notes)

I'd expected more from the Spinifex and less from the Old Block...That Hewitson was pretty good as well...far better than the last time I tried it...

  • 2014 Saltram Shiraz No.1

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa

    Biscuit, blackberry, sweet spice, a little 'wet', a little cream. On the palate black fruits married to tight tannins. I'd say monolithic but that seems to imply impressive bulk…this is more, ahh, monolithic lite. Simple.

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  • 2014 Spinifex Shiraz Bete Noir

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    Meaty, gamey, wild ferment, whole berry prettiness to the fruit, savoury green peppercorn spice. More of the same on the palate but there is an imbalance between the sharpness of the acidity and jubey sweetness of the fruit. Tannins are chalky. All travels long. Hmm.

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  • 2016 Schwarz Wine Company Shiraz The Schiller

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    Slightly jubey, blackberry cordial, a smidge of cream, toast, butter and sweet spice. Concentrated, sweet, black fruit married to gritty tannins on the palate. Meh.

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  • 2013 St Hallett Shiraz Old Block

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa

    Initially a slight medicinal note, savoury berries, some cedary spice and biscuit. It's juicy and fleshy with black berries, spice and soft, talc textured tannins. Rather nice.

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  • 2013 Yelland & Papps Shiraz Divine Flawed

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    Ugh, smells both sweet and sour fruit, some Asian five spice. I don't really want to put this in my mouth. Must be brave…Hmm, tastes like what I think wood glue would taste like. Can't pick the flaw (comments please) but I'm going to call this as flawed - I don't believe this wine is meant to taste like this. FLAW

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  • 2013 Wolf Blass Shiraz Platinum Label

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa

    Blackberry, cream, slight vanilla and sweet spiced backed by baked earth & clay…Juicy with plenty of concentrated blackberry fruit then plentiful chalky tannins come to the party though the fruit persists. Elegant it aint but okay in an old school way.

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  • 2014 Hewitson Shiraz Falkenberg

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa

    really quite jammy black fruit on the nose, concentrated, blacked by cream, vanilla and a little baked & sweet spice. Hmm, it's juicier and less overtly concentrated on the palate, tannins re controlled and integrated and this is, though still young, rather good.

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  • 2016 Glaetzer Shiraz Amon-Ra Barossa Valley

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    slightly jubey concentrated red and black berries with a touch of smoke, cedar and some black coffee. Quite sweet and over-concentrated on the palate though with gritty tannins and a lack of freshness. Not today thanks.

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Flight 4 - Bracket four - Eden Valley (8 Notes)

Probably the most interesting bracket for me with the most elegant wines...still very hit and miss though...The Max & Me and the Eden Hall were my winners here...

  • 2016 St Hallett Shiraz Garden Of Eden

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa

    slightly reductive, slightly anonymous dusty black fruit and a little chalky minerality. Tightly tannic with sweet black fruits. Meh.

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  • 2015 Michael Hall Shiraz Flaxman's Valley

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

    Slightly rubbery black fruits, quite woody as well, earthy with a little sweet spice. And so it proves on the palate, finishes a little short, tannins are quite drying and gritty textured. Meh.

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  • 2013 Henschke Shiraz Mount Edelstone

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

    concentrated & polished black berry, cherry and oak with vanilla & sweet spice. And concentrated and polished black berry, cherry and oak on the palate with vanilla cream on the finish and big chewy tannins carrying this along. Bit of a beast but balanced old school fun.

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  • 2016 Torzi Matthews Shiraz "Schist Rock"

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

    Wet, jubey and toasty blackberry and bramble, a little peppery spice with a smidge of cream & butter. Less pleasant on the palate. Gritty, course tannins shut down the sweet fruit quite quickly. Nah.

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  • 2015 Max & Me Shiraz Boongarrie Vineyard

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

    Jubey whole berry fruit, farty wild ferment, a touch of bonfire ash with perfumed notes almost rose petal and some meaty spices. Juicy, peppery, black hued fruits, tight with a little flour textured tannins balanced but with some alcohol warmth on the finish. Mmm, pretty nice.

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  • 2014 Flaxman Wines Shiraz Estate

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

    clay and fresh mud, concentrated black fruit, a little ink and black tea on the nose. It's juicy but the fruit is kind of too sweet for the palate, perhaps there is a touch of residual sugar here? Meh.

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  • 2015 Eden Hall Shiraz Block 4

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

    Muted, meaty black fruit with sweet spices and toast on the nose but on the palate this is all blackberry compote, very pure fruit, long and luscious. Bravo at this QPR. Yum.

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  • 2016 Head Wines Shiraz The Redhead

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

    Medium minus intensity aromas of biscuit, red fruit, a little spice on the nose…In the mouth it's wet with a tiny amount of fruit then chamois soft tannins. This lightweight offering would probably be absolutely fine by itself but at the end of this tasting it's heavily outgunned. Additionally at $120 I'd by the Ogier Cote Rotie Village which is, for me, a considerably better wine.

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Closing

A couple of things struck me about this tasting, firstly the more controlled use of oak and secondly the less massive wines than I would have expected to see out of the Barossa. Some thoughtful wine making has gone into these. Very good tasting.

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