I employed my usual strategy of refraining from web research, reading back labels or tasting notes, but I knew, I just knew in my heart-of-hearts that this wine was going to be heavy on the ethanol. No surprises to follow. And there’s no introduction required to this Barossa producer so I’ll throw myself headlong into the task of bringing you a snippet of Struie – a 100% shiraz from the Eden and Barossa Valleys.
Deep, inky, blood-red with purpling edges. Kind-of exciting to see this colour – you know you’re in for a biggie. Dense dark plum and liquorice greet on opening, with some syrupy mocha and punch of pencilly oak. There’s mint and spice – cinnamon and clove, white + black pepper. It’s brambly and earthy with a touch of savoury tomato, while the fruit spectrum covers the dark and brooding black stuff to rich, red and blueberry aromas – it’s raisiny and sweet-smelling. Other characters I jotted down include caramelised fig, toffee apple, vanilla pod. It’s lush and plush.
The palate is red-fruited raisins, some blackcurrant slipping through, white spice and pepper and a little star anise mintiness. Chewy and flavoursome – savoury like rich, slow-cooked ragu, or tarry backstrap molasses, and sweet like a fiercely baked blackberry pie. This wine is cookin’. Rounded and complex, texturally soft and pliant – the tannins seem to be either very fine, or softened. The alcohol fleshes out the back palate with the dense, yet sinuous oak. They’ve really backed off the structural elements – tannin/acid – to bring you a wine of suppleness and flavour. Viscous to all hell.
Vibe
I enjoyed this. It was worryingly drinkable for a high-alc style. But to be honest, it doesn’t really have the X-Factor that you would expect from this label, and you know I love an X-Factor. Yes, the alcohol shows (it says 15% on the label, but who knows?), but it’s not overdone for the style of wine. I think I enjoyed the recent bottle of big-alc Kay Brothers more than the Torbreck (see here for the Kay’s) but altogether this was an enjoyable beast over two nights – one with pizza, and one with lamb roast. Is good, is Torbreck, is not cheap, is not short of fans, is worth a look.
Value: Current release (2009) is $48.50 at cellar door. I vaguely recall buying this 2007 for $40-ish somewhere, so that makes sense. I think it’s OK, considering The Factor is currently $125 and The Laird $700.
Tasted: July 2011
Closure: Cork (a good specimen)
Source: Purchased
Tech-head
Producer: Torbreck – www.torbreck.com – established in 1994 by Dave Powell, formerly of Rockford. A share-farming and semi-virtual enterprise until the 2000’s when they acquired their own property – the Hillside vineyard in Lyndoch – and established their own winemaking and cellar door facility on a nearby property.
Region: Barossa and Eden Valleys, South Australia. Eden provides the varietal clarity and structure while the Barossa provides the power.
Site: 40 year-old Eden, 80 year-old Barossa.
Winemaking: Matured in old and new French oak for 18 months.
Vintage: Eden was hot, the hottest for a long time. The preceding winter was dry too. A little rain in Feb eased the pain. Early, short – yet she was a hottie and correspondingly a goodie. Much the same in Barossa – an early and short vintage, low yielding, but some good quality amongst the carnage.
I’ve been on the Kay Brothers mailing list for some time. The Block 6 Shiraz was the main reason – I tasted it first at a wine club dinner when I was a mere baby, and was impressed by its over-ripe richness and power – a style I was unaccustomed to at the time. As the mailing list has grown and the allocations of this wine have shrunk (and the price has crept up accordingly, although still reasonable) I have in more recent years been buying some of the Kay’s whites and cheaper reds to offset.
In a recent cleanout of the cellar I found three bottles of 2007 Riesling so I chucked one in the icebox to give it a burl. McLaren Vale is not exactly the epicentre of fine Riesling, thus the fruit for this wine is sourced from 60 year-old vines in Eden Valley. I approached this casually and with less-than-the-usual vigour. I’m happy to say I was pleasantly rewarded.
Slightly yellowing straw colour. The nose offered a whole bunch of interesting aromas – from oily kero to damp straw to plummy nashi pear to potpourri and lavender. Probably the wildest descriptor I pencilled down was ‘sweaty vinyl upholstery, crushed ants, balsa-wood, and a handful of pine needles’. I’m smelling it again and I can wholly vouch for that one. There’s a smoky hint, and some citrussy lemon and a little green peach too.
I love an oily palate. This one has it in spades. The acid has been backed off, or diminished with time in bottle, and there’s an enjoyable creaminess going on. Flavour-wise I’m initially hit with salty green peas, giving way to some lovely, sweet grapefruit and lemon juice, and a fine line of minerality. There’s good weight, there’s depth and great length, and with a piece of grilled Snapper and some home-made chippies it went down a treat.
Vibe
An unexpected pleasure from a producer not renowned for its cooler white varietals. Riesling and fish is usually a good mix, especially if you use ingredients that complement the flavours/aromas of the wine. Like lemon juice, thyme, pepper. I reckon I’ll grab some more Kay’s Riesling next order.
Value: Cellar door price was $20 if I remember. Just about right I reckon.
Tasted: February 2011
Closure: Screwcap
Tech-head
Producer: Kay Brothers – www.kaybrothersamerywines.com – established 1890, famous for their Block 6 Shiraz produced in small quantities from 100+ year vines.
Region: The fruit came from Eden Valley, South Australia, although the winery and main vineyards are in McLaren Vale (the sometimes poorer cousin of Barossa but a personal favourite of mine)
Vintage: A short, sharp vintage in 2007 due to the warm and dry winter/spring. Some bodgy weather at flowering and a lack of water approaching vintage reduced yields. An average year.
