New Release – Part One

12 June 2010

After the excitement of the recent cabernet tastings, it was time to plough into the myriad of shiraz that have come in over the last few weeks. Breaking with my tradition of randomly selecting wines for the tasting, we decided to put together a bracket of Western Australian wines for this tasting.

The highlight by far was the three wines from Howard Park in the Madfish, Leston and Scotsdale. All three were excellent, with the Leston receiving a gold medal. It would be interesting to look at the three again in five and ten years to see how they develop.

The Palmer – Cracker Jack, Goundrey – Homestead and the pair from Kalgan River represent good value.

Reviewed

Howard Park – Shiraz – Leston – 2008 (18.5). This only hints at its potential. Ripe, rich, dense and powerful, the superb fruit leads to a really textured finish. Lovely mouth-feel and length. Yes, there is a touch of oak apparent, but the fruit will absorb this in time.

Howard Park – Shiraz – Scotsdale – 2008 (18.4). Dense and closed with dark fruits on the nose. The palate is dense, rich, powerful and tight. Chocolate and leather dominate the very fine finish. This is powerful and superbly made. The length is excellent and the mouth-feel is quite seamless. 10ys +.

MadFish – Shiraz – Gold Turtle – 2008 (18). A more serious nose, this is quite closed and tight. There is mint and eucalypt, with red fruit highlights. The palate shows good quality fruit with pepper and some mulberry fruit. Excellent wine-making and fruit. There is some spice and white pepper and the tannins and oak are fine to close. Will evolve.

Leeuwin Estate – Shiraz – Art Series – 2007(17.7). More approachable and pretty, this has attractive, even succulent fruit on the close. The palate is dense and there is spice and black plums running through the finish. This is really juicy and drinking well. Has the structure to age well too.

Kalgan River – Shiraz – Ciprian – 2008 (17.5). Alluring and intriguing. There is ripe juicy fruit in the plum spectrum. Spice and pepper are complemented by fine vanillin oak. The palate is really peppery and there is a souring finish that adds freshness. There is a touch of cherry fruit and spice to close. There was a question about the tannins, but I liked them.

Palmer – Shiraz/Cabernet – Cracker Jack – 2007 (17.5). Sweet lifted fruit is complimented by cedar, spice, licorice and a touch of earthy characters. The palate is rich and round, with good length. There are generous fruit characters and a whiff of white pepper, and the finish is firm. Excellent mid-term drinking.

Goundrey – Shiraz – Homestead – 2009 (17). Very pretty nose with floral fruit characters. Supple and fragrant, this also has some peppery characters. Very youthful and fresh with a long and juicy finish. Uncomplicated and delicious.

Kalgan River – Shiraz/Viognier – 2008 (16.9). This is a touch volatile to open. Some earthy, funky notes develop with air. The fruit on the palate is high quality and perfumed. May have had a touch of viognier. Only medium bodied but quite persistent.

Willow Bridge – Shiraz/Viognier – Gravel Pit – 2008 (16.9). There are some earthy fruit characters to the fresh, plump fruit. Good drinking.

Palmer – Shiraz – 2007 (16.5). Wow, dense and powerful nose. There is some cherry and plum fruit. The palate is a fruit bomb and tends to the candied spectrum. Warm finish attests to the 15.4% alcohol.

Shepard’s Hut – Shiraz – Limited Release – 2007 (16.5). Sweet ripe fruit. Leathery and earthy notes over the primary fruit characters. The palate is almost confectionary but this is a solid wine.