IF you want to put an authentic Aussie kick into a night of Olympic TV watching, you could try a bottle of sparkling red Shiraz. I’m not exactly recommending it, but I’m told it’s all the rage Down Under: dark red, grapey and about as subtle as boxing a kangaroo (the effects are similar, too).
Here’s what you do: Order out for some shredded Chinese duck and pop the cork on the nonvintage Seaview Shiraz Cabernet ($11). Watching the bubbles fight their way up through that inky juice is a little like watching a lava lamp. It has the potential to be a real Down Under the Table kind of wine – but like the label says, it’s “uniquely Australian.”
You could say similar things about some of the classier Australian Shirazes – the ones without bubbles – which frequently pack upwards of 14 percent alcohol.
Our Aussie cousins make two broad styles of Shiraz – the heavyweights and the middleweights.
There are some impressive full-bodied Shirazes – deep and balanced – but too often, like a lot of big fighters, they’re long on power and short on finesse. They verge too easily into pie-in-the-face wines, with gobs of sticky fruit flavors that overwhelm whatever’s for dinner (though I never followed the recommendation on some bottles to serve it with kangaroo meat).
Shiraz’s medium-bodied version seems to be an easier athlete to train into shape. You get straightforward fruit, sometimes a taste of black pepper – one of the wine’s trademarks – and if you’re lucky, good acidity to give it freshness.
Shiraz is the Aussie name for Syrah, the grape that makes the classic French reds from the northern Rhone, Hermitage and Cote Rotie. The devil knows why they called it Shiraz, although the grape is thought to have originated around an ancient Persian city of that name – way back when the Olympics was a strictly Greek affair.
The Australians use Shiraz, the country’s most widely planted red grape, to make some very good blends with Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and other varieties.
But stand-alone Shiraz is pure Aussie, from the basic “good drop” to the complex monsters, so I’ll focus here on wines sold under the varietal name, although some may have small amounts of other grapes added.
After an Olympic tasting of 63 wines from 45 producers (and how was your weekend?), the following entries earned a spot on the podium. First the medium bodied wines:
* Stonehaven South Eastern Australia Shiraz 1998 ($8). Knock me out. This wine is intensely rich and earthy with firm tannins and raspberry fruit that’s so vivid you can almost feel the seeds on your teeth. A super bargain.
* Hope Estate Hunter Valley Shiraz 1999 ($13). This is only the second vintage from this winery but it didn’t take them long to get it right. Made from 40-year-old vines, the black plum and cherry fruit is balanced by tannins and oak.
* Grant Burge Barossa Vines Shiraz 1999 ($15). Lip-smacking acidity, dry with raspberry and cherry flavors.
* Jacob’s Creek Reserve Barossa Valley Shiraz 1997 ($15). Tannic with a hint of bitterness, plums and cherries, good balance.
* Blue Pyrenees Estate Victoria Shiraz 1998 ($21). The cooler climate results in a surprisingly medium- to light-bodied wine, despite an alcohol content of 14.5 percent. A good match for lamb.
* Barwang South Eastern Australia Shiraz 1998 ($10). Straight ahead smells and flavors of raspberry and cherry.
* Mitchelton Goulburn Valley Shiraz 1997 ($16). Soft but acidic, with a classic peppery taste derived from a cooler climate, this has a little bit of Mourvedre and Grenache mixed in.
* Wyndham Estate Bin 555 South Eastern Australia Shiraz 1997 ($10). Loads of almost candied fruit and stewed plums, soft tannins, medium acid. I wouldn’t say it’s balanced but for the price it sure tastes good.
The heavyweight medal winners were:
* Grant Burge Filsell Barossa Shiraz 1998 ($25). Smooth but powerful, with a warm aroma of oak and vanilla and deep cherry and blackberry flavors.
* Coriole McLaren Vale Shiraz 1998 ($29). Big flavors, lots of tannin and a deep plummy color that stains the glass.
* Stonehaven Reserve Padthaway Shiraz 1996 ($46). This one jumps quickly from flavor to flavor, shining a spotlight on cherries, plums, blackberries and raspberries then moves on to a peppery finish.
* Stringy Brae Clare Valley Shiraz 1998 ($26). This is one of a series of boutique wines brought to the U.S. for the first time by Connecticut importer Jane Delaney, an Aussie import herself. The wine is peppery and stylish, with a hint of nutmeg aroma and cigar flavors.
* Killerby Shiraz 1998 ($28). It’s another of Delaney’s finds, oaky and leathery with blackberry fruit.
* D’Arenberg The Dead Arm McLaren Vale Shiraz 1998 ($60). Smells of cedar and spice, an interesting combination of smooth drinking and firm tannins, peppery finish.
* Chapel Hill McLaren Vale Shiraz 1998 ($22). The flavors grow and grow to a big finish.
Here’s to temperance, mate.
