I do this blog for fun, the wines here are some of the very few I can be bothered to write up. The cream has risen.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Schild Estate 2008 Shiraz

Edit: review withdrawn, see comments and this.

To note, at this time most bottles will not yet have the added label showing the bottle to be a second 'blend'.

Dear Aussies, you can have this other wine, all the award winning ones are being sent to the USA. It's just as good, honest!

3 comments:

  1. I have no idea which bottling I reviewed and I'm pretty annoyed by that to say the least.

    —- Press Release —–

    16 March 2011
    CLARIFICATION OF RECENT BOTTLINGS OF
    SCHILD ESTATE 2008 BAROSSA SHIRAZ
    A recent article published on the website of US wine magazine Wine Spectator has called the provenance of a Schild Estate wine into question.
    In November last year, the 2008 Schild Estate Barossa Shiraz was awarded 94 points and placed at number seven in Wine Spectator’s Top 10 Wines of 2010. Due to the unprecedented sales generated in the US by this high award, a decision was made by Schild Estate Wines to reallocate the majority of the 2008 Barossa Shiraz production to the US market.

    The 2008 Barossa Shiraz was sourced entirely from Schild‐owned vineyards, and with the 2009 wine months away from readiness, a second blend was carefully sourced from neighbouring vineyards to create a stop‐gap product for the domestic Australian market. To avoid any
    confusion in the marketplace, an extra strip label has been positioned on the front of each bottle clearly stating ‘2nd Blend’.
    “The intention was never to mislead consumers, and it’s very regretful that this misunderstanding has arisen,” said Schild Estate Wines General Manager Casey Mohr. “The ‘2nd Blend’ 2008 Barossa Shiraz was meticulously crafted to be as close to the original wine as
    possible, but it is visibly labelled as a different blend. This new blend is purely for the domestic Australian market, so there is no cause for dispute in the USA.”
    “At Schild Estate Wines we pride ourselves on our commitment to translating the unique tapestry of our vineyards into wines that speak of honesty and drinkability. We hold ourselves entirely accountable for standing by the Schild Estate philosophy and motto of ‘Pure Barossa’,” Mohr continued.
    “We are enormously proud of the 2008 Barossa Shiraz and were extremely excited to receive such a high score for a $20 wine. We will continue to submit wines for tasting with Wine Spectator and hope to open more effective lines of communication so that uncertainty such as this can be avoided in future.”
    For further comment or images:
    Casey Mohr, General Manager, Schild Estate

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  2. The 2nd blend 08 Schild Shiraz has been available in BC. canada for the last few weeks. I have yet to taste it but I've been told that it's good, but not as good as the original. I suspect a 90-91 rating.

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  3. I forgot to report that the selling price in BC is now $17.99 for the 2nd blend versus the $26.95 for the last of the original blend.

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