You know how you buy a wine purely on a reviewer's glowing recommendation, then when you get it you think the wine is pretty mediocre to say the least? This is not one of those wines.
I got some of this as I liked the idea that Alex Head is trying to make complex and classy wines from the Barossa Valley, somewhat inspired by wines from Côte Rotie in France's Rhone Valley. Actually he's gone well beyond "trying".
I'm a fan of big, bold, powerhouse BV Shiraz, but I don't want to drink it everytime I have a red. Indeed I drink red wines largely because of variety, and I'm often mystified by those who drink just one brand of anything. So, I'm pretty impressed by this wine that is not a run of the mill Shiraz-Viognier.
A quick sniff after opening and you can initially pick up the apricots like in a lot of SV, but a bit of breathing in the decanter and that melds with the other rich Shiraz aromas. On the tongue the tannins initially had me thinking they are a bit big and grippy yet, but they're balanced with superb acid that gives this wine a very more-ish mouthfeel. The fruit is just brilliant quality, absolutely top notch stuff.
I won't be opening another bottle of this for at least 3 years, though that is going to be really hard to manage. Not sure how available this is as only around 300 cases are made and it's well past the release date.
Rated excellent and ****
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