Tuesday, February 27, 2007

2001 McWilliam's Coonawarra Shiraz

Tonight's Aussie Shiraz came by way of barter - a friend desired a few bottles from my cellar, and in exchange offered me some of his special order of McWilliam's Shiraz, a wine not stocked by the local authorities. Well, after deal went down I waited a whole 24 hours before attacking the first bottle with a corkscrew and blogging it.

The 2001 McWilliam's Shiraz is not foreign to this corner of the web, as it was one of the wines in our Shiraz tasting one year ago. I did not remember that when the barter offer came, but it is nice to know that our distinguished group of tasters rated this first amongst a good group of 'off-the-beaten-path' Aussie wines. Obviously unfiltered, I think they crushed the grapes inside the bottle, as the sediment was substantial - decant first. It showed a beautiful purple in the glass, with some brick red at the edge. Exhibiting scents of blackberries, prunes, spices and undergrowth, it was complex and interesting, but showing some minty/alcohol aromas. On the palate this was more restrained than most Aussie Shiraz and nicely balanced. It appears to be in fine drinking form, and I doubt it will improve with extensive bottle aging. A nice catch.

Score: 16/20
Cost: $25 (est.)
Alcohol: 13.5%