Monday, June 18, 2018

Australia vs. France Shiraz

Australia narrowly lost the soccer match, but it narrowly won this Shiraz comparison. Here are the wines by country and order of score:

2016 Giaconda Warner Shiraz: ripe plum fruit, not caked, depth and elegance, balanced, dry finish (95 pts)

2016 Bests Bin O Shiraz: lush, pretty and elegant, mixed berry fruit, some spice, medium weight (93 pts)

2015 Yeringberg Shiraz: blueberry and cherry, elegant and balanced, great structure, the lifted Viognier character detracts from the beautiful Shiraz fruit (93 pts)

2016 SC Pannell Adelaide Hills Syrah: superbly pretty blue fruits, soft, vibrant (92 pts)

2014 Craiglee Shiraz: blue fruit, some eucalypt, licorice, quite fruity, smooth finish (91 pts)

The French wines were from the Northern Rhone at more or less the same price points.

2015 Ogier Cote Rotie Village: dark fruit, licorice, energetic, good balance, firm finish (94 pts)

2015 Yann Chave Crozes Hermitage La Rouvre: well rounded, pretty, a bit fruity, straightforward finish (92 pts)

2015 Ogier La Rosine Syrah: balanced blackberry fruit and olive and smoky savoury notes, firm tannins (92 pts)

2015 Pierre Gaillard St Joseph: quite big, blue fruited, very spicy, very Victorian (91 pts)

2016 Maxime Graillot Domaine Des Lises Crozes Hermitage: good fruit and energy, but quite slim with a flat mouthfeel, smooth finish (90 pts)

There was as much difference between the Australian Shirazes as between the Australian and French wines.

    

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello Thomas,
I'm a little surprised by the relatively low score of the Craiglee Shiraz 2014.
Could you provide a little more detail please?

Thanks

Alontin said...

Yes, this was a surprise to me as well. I have enjoyed a number of vintages of this understated wine. However, I found the 2014 a bit simple and fruity. It did not have an outstanding structure, with acidity and tannins not strong enough to balance the fruit. I am therefore also concerned about the cellar worthyness of this wine.