Shiraz night was a long time coming as one of our regular attendees collects the stuff. What I found in doing my usual homework is that from a critic-score perspective [for what that’s worth], there is superb value here – and your money can buy mid-90s scores vastly more easily than with other varietals from elsewhere in the world. Our normal budget would not afford one single bottle of high end bordeaux, but we could buy 2 wines scored 94, and 2 wines scored 96. Those are some big scores. Perhaps nowhere else do you find that QPR.
The other enlightening bit worth sharing is that the wines were rock stars, but were relatively unexciting with food. Perhaps one of the least food-friendly varietals I’ve come across. And it wasn’t for lack of trying. We had smoked jerky. Pepper steak with saskatoon, balsamic, and horseradish on potato. We had charred asian greens with ginger black bean moose on rice. We then moved to Big Turk. Yes, the candy bar. It was perhaps the best pairing of the night with the wines. Unusual pairing award winner: jerky with toblerone and shiraz.
THE WINES
A 2007 Glaetzer Bishop Shiraz $39 Group
Very fruity, nice, but a little forgettable overall. Had some onion and cherry vibes, raisin on the palate, but was the least impressive of the night. 91
B 2004 Kilkanoon The Covenent Shiraz $40
Far and away the most kick-ass of the bunch for my palate. Has a real gunpowdery, herbaceous, moldy streak that is super funky an huge. It’s a monster on the palate, which normally turns me off, but I just dug this. Caraway, heaviness, and herbs. 96+
C 2005 Rolf Binder Heysen Shiraz $55
Lovely, then kinda flatish. Subtle, earthy, and most elegant style of the bunch. Supple with a pithy finish. Great wine, had tough competition. 93
D 2005 Mitolo Savitar Shiraz $63
THE most candified fruit-bomb I’ve ever encountered on the nose. Grape nerds. Intense fruit in the mouth, gorgeous wine, lovely, big, and dry. A stunner. If the fruit was not so candy-driven, I’d have scored it even higher: 95.
Lastly, this was the first night of the use of a tool that I love my friends and family too much to not employ: the breathalizer. Everyone blew prior to going home. I highly recommend it, and the one I bought is this one. It takes a few goes at it to get a feel for how to time and pace the blow, but other than that, it’s excellent.