Australian Shiraz - November 2002 WINTER WARMERS The weather is now cold and damp and I'm really looking for something to warm me up. What better than a bunch of chewy shiraz's ? So, with all the wines decanted one hour before consumption this was my personal order of preference :         1996 Wakefield, St.Andrews Clare Valley Shiraz         1997 Rockford, Hoffmann Shiraz SVS         2000 d'Arenberg, The Dead Arm Shiraz         1999 Rockford, Basket Press Barossa Valley Shiraz         1999 Bremerton, Langhorne Creek Old Adam Shiraz         1999 Baileys, Glenrowan 1920's Block Shiraz         2000 Campbells, Rutherglen Bobby Burns Shiraz 1996 Wakefield, St. Andrews Clare Valley Shiraz Decanted 1 hour before drinking. Very deep garnet, almost to the rim. Cream and intense plum fruit, blackberry, kirsch and bacon fat on the nose. Like many premium shiraz's, there is no doubting both the quality and concentration of fruit on this beast, but what is most impressive is the fineness of the tannins. The last tannins that left such a smooth coating on my teeth were from de Vogüé's 1er Cru Chambolle-Musigny, i.e. young vine Musigny. As smooth as smooth can be. Top notch without a doubt - Excellent. 1997 Rockford, Shiraz Hoffmann Vineyard SVS SVS means that this is a special vineyard selection wine. Saturated ruby colour - almost black. High tones of blackberry on the nose with deep, massive plum notes lower down. Really super concentration, very port-like. Good acidity keeps this nicely in balance with thick chewy tannins. A fine wine. I probably won't touch another one for a few years - if I can help it! 2000 d'Arenberg, The Dead Arm Shiraz I missed out on the 1999, but have '96-98 in the cellar. Saturated ruby colour. Nose is pretty deep with some smokey elements from the barrel treatment. The palate is very concentrated with crunchy tannins and quite good acidity, lots going on in here. The tannins are not quite as smooth as the Rockford SVS, but quite good value. A very good wine and unusually for a young Dead Arm I find this quite drinkable. 1999 Rockford, Barossa Valley Basket Press Shiraz Deep ruby colour, still purple at the edge. A lovely intense plum and mulberry nose. Good intensity of fruit on palate too. Reasonably sweet with thick tannin. The acidity pushes the finish quite long. A very good wine. 1999 Bremerton, Old Adam Langhorne Creek Shiraz Deep ruby colour, some purple at the edge. Nose is relatively high toned, some blackberry in there. There's a lot of concentration here, predominantly small stoned fruit. The acidity is a quite persistent with medium-plus tannins that creep up on you. I'm sure this is a better wine than the Baileys, but it needs some time as it's currently a little anonymous. This time last year the 1998 Old Adam was much more forward. 1999 Baileys, Glenrowan 1920's Block Shiraz Deep garnet colour, still with a cherry rim. The nose is reticent but has high tones of cherry and blackberry. The palate shows medium-plus fruit intesity with good acidity and medium tannins. More interest here than the 'Bobby Burns'. Good. 2000 Campbells, Rutherglen Bobby Burns Shiraz Medium ruby colour. Redcurrant and even banana on the nose. The palate is sweet and quite jammy. Reasonable acidity and mainly red fruit. An okay wine in a lighter style, but this lighter version is for my taste less interesting than previous 'Bobbys'. For this vintage at least, not up to the standard of its peers. © nanson.ch 2000-2002