Why are we denigrating South
Australian Shiraz? The world, it seems,
has relegated South Australian Shiraz to the backroom, and has put cooler
climate Syrah to the fore. The
excitement is with the more elegant Rhone styles with pepper and floral
expressions, and the buzz is in France
and Italy, North and South
America, the cooler growing areas of Australia
and for us in New Zealand
in the Hawke’s Bay. It seems no-one
desires the riper, broader, softer Shiraz
wines of the Barossa, Clare and McLaren Vale.
This is a tragedy, as these wines remain classics, and deliver as they
have for decades, if not more nowadays.
It seems wine-drinkers can be fickle and follow fads, to their
detriment, as warmer-climate Shiraz
is generous, soul-satisfying stuff that is ultra user-friendly, and can provide
real value for money. We remind you of
how generous and drinkable South Australian Shiraz can be with the following
two famous offerings, from the superb 2006 vintage. We ask you, how can one honestly not enjoy
drinking them?
Saltram ‘Mamre Brook’ Barossa Shiraz 2006
Saltram is one of the great names in the Barossa Valley.
Based at Nuriootpa Road,
just one kilometre from Angaston, Saltram’s history goes back to 1844 when
William Salter arrived from Exeter, England and settled in the Barossa Valley,
constructing the ‘Mamre Brook’ homestead and establishing vineyards. In the history of Saltrams, there have only
been eight senior winemakers, with two families dominating – the Salters and
the Dolans. The legendary Peter Lehmann
had a profound influence on the quality of Saltram’s wines during his tenure
from 1960 to 1979.
The 2006 Saltram ‘Mamre Brook’ Shiraz was made by Nigel Dolan, with Saltram
since 1979, taking the reins in 1992 as chief winemaker. It is archetype Barossa Shiraz, made from
Barossa and Eden Valley fruit, fermented in traditional
open top fermentors to 15.5% alc. and aged in new and seasoned French and
American oak barrels for 16 months.
Impenetrable purple-red in colour, this is a wine of silky softness, warmth
and richness, showing sweetly, ripe. blackberry, liquorice, spice and chocolate
flavours with smoky, vanilla oak nuances on a supple, rounded and ripe
palate. Drinking beautifully now, the
richness of the wine will enable it to age another 5-8 years. However, there are few wines that offer such
immediate gratification; it is quite irresistible now. The retail price of $20.05 makes it a
veritable bargain.
Penfolds Bin 28 ‘Kalimna’
Shiraz 2006
Penfolds chief winemaker
Peter Gago says: “Indelibly Penfolds stamped!
The 2006 vintage has delivered a classic Bin 28 Shiraz.” The house style that is so prominent in core
range of the Penfolds red wines is a result of the philosophy multi-region and
multi-vineyard blending for consistency, along with the use of American oak
hogshead barrels for maturation. As with
‘Grange’, the Bin 28 is a warm-climate Shiraz,
exhibiting robustness, rich fruit extraction, and generous flavours marked by
oak vanillins. Bin 28 was first made in
1959 and named after the famous Barossa Valley Kalimna vineyard which carries
some of the oldest vines in the world.
The 2006 Bin 28 ‘Kalimna’
Shiraz was made from fruit predominately sourced
from the Barossa Valley with some parcels coming from
Langhorne Creek and the McLaren Vale. It
was fermented to 14.5% alc. and matured for 12 months in older American
oak. Dark ruby red in colour, this has
layers of dark plum aromas and flavours that reveal Asian sauces, liquorice and
chocolate with air-time in the glass.
The palate is fulsome and well-structured, with plenty of grip to
underpin the power and richness of the fruit.
This possesses a concentration only seen in older vine, dry-grown,
low-yield Shiraz. Somewhat reticent at present, this is one to
leave alone for another 2-3 years to allow its true potential to show. Bin 28 has a proven ability to live 20 years
in top vintages, and the 2006 is an outstanding year.