Wine & Spirits - February 2021 - 55

Year's Best South Australia Mediterranean Varieties
energy in the end. Pretty great for $18. §
Southern Starz, Huntington Beach, CA

MCL AREN VALE

LIMESTONE COAST
126158

93 | Terre à Terre

$30

2015 Wrattonbully Crayères Vineyard
Shiraz ^ This project began when Christian
Bizot ventured from Champagne to the
Adelaide Hills, where he planted vines in
the Piccadilly Valley with the help of Brian
Croser. Bizot's son, Xavier, and Croser's
daughter, Lucy, are now partners, having
married in 2003 and purchased land in
Wrattonbully the following year. Their parcel
is on a limestone ridge over terra rossa soils,
with limestone caves below. Its 2.5 acres of
shiraz, planted in 2008, provided the fruit for
this fascinating wine, its flavor details ranging
from citrus blossoms to red mulberries and
gingery tannins with the power and supple
grace derived from these limestone soils.
Check it out. § Solstars, New York, NY
126156

90 | Penfolds

$40

2018 Coonawarra Bin 128 Shiraz ^ Knowing
this wine's provenance, I'd guess it will prove
itself with time. And, at first glance, it's
already there, a layered, substantial shiraz,
saturated with ripe cherry flavor. There's
a touch of sweetness to perk up the wine's
delicious fruit. Then the tannins, which feel
refined at first, begin to show some edges. It
feels like youthful reduction getting in the
way, and there's plenty of concentration here
to sustain the wine for years as it matures. §
Treasury Wine Estates, Napa, CA
126154

88 | Jip Jip Rocks

$20

2018 Padthaway Shiraz (Best Buy) ^ There's
refinement to this wine's fresh strawberry
flavors, clean in the middle, with darker,
sweet cherry fruit in the end. This is simple
and pleasing, a shiraz for roast root vegetables
this winter. § Kysela Père et Fils, Winchester, VA
126155

88 | Penley Estate

$20

2018 Coonawarra Atlas Shiraz (Best Buy) ^
This shiraz strikes a serious tone with its sour
cherry flavors and refined, musky tannins-
it brings to mind the savor of grass-fed beef.
It's juicy and satisfying, for a beef stew. § Old
Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA

94 | d'Arenberg

$65

2017 McLaren Vale The Dead Arm Shiraz ^
Only Chester Osborn would name his icon
wine after a disease, in this case, eutypa
dieback, caused by a wood fungus that
eventually kills off a cane on an old vine,
leaving a dead arm that needs to be cut
away. His collection of old-vine shiraz parcels
include a lot of vines with dead arms, which
then concentrate their efforts on the fruit
they grow on the arms that remain. This 2017
shows that concentration in a stately, plump
wine, radiating sun from its blue-black fruit
and contrasting earthiness in its rooty,
radish-like tannins. Supple and elegant, this
has the stature to age with grace. § Old Bridge
Cellars, Napa, CA
126112

93 | d'Arenberg

$29

2017 McLaren Vale The Wild Pixie Shiraz ^
The d'Arenberg team co-ferments shiraz with
roussanne for this blend, taking it through
foot treading, basket pressing and then aging
in old French-oak barrels. The roussanne
perks up the scent of this wine with hothouse
flowers and skunky marijuana notes, all of
that briskly wrapped into the plump stone
fruit flavors of peaches and plums. It's the
generosity that clearly shines through, the
funk providing complexity to the wine's
depths of fruit. § Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA
126121

92 | Davey Family

$50

2016 McLaren Vale D Block Reserve Shiraz ^
Rich and spicy in its vibrant purple plum
fruit, this wine shows some superripeness
in scents of peach and fruit leather notes.
Bitter chocolate tannins hold that ripeness
in check, their texture feeling elastic, gentle
acidity bringing tension to the wine. It's a big
wine for roast beef or roast fresh ham. § Precept
Wine, Seattle, WA

91 | Mr. Riggs

$20

91 | Spring Seed

$20

90 | Mitolo

$30

89 | Davey Family

$20

2018 McLaren Vale The Bolter Shiraz
(Best Buy) ^ Ben Riggs blends this wine from
a wide range of parcels throughout McLaren
Vale, producing a wine that combines bright
cherry richness with tangy orange oil notes in
a clean, refreshing shiraz. § Epicurean Wines,
Seattle, WA

2017 McLaren Vale Scarlett Runner Shiraz
(Best Buy) ^ Joch Bosworth started converting
his family's vineyards to organic farming in
1995, now using that fruit for this label and
for Battle of Bosworth. His 2017 feels cool
and brisk against its jammy black-currant
flavors. There's a grassy note to the dusty
tannins, suited to roast game. § Epicurean
Wines, Seattle, WA
126100
2018 McLaren Vale Angela Shiraz ^ From
a vineyard near Willunga in the south of
McLaren Vale, this wine focuses on black
raspberry flavors and some sanguine, ironrich notes of game. The bright berry flavor is
what lasts, tense and floral. § Vintus, NY
126108
2017 McLaren Vale Shiraz (Best Buy) ^
Warm and generous, this wine's fruit has a
peachy ripeness. That broad intensity and
high-toned richness will take on a fatty
grilled steak. § Precept Wine, Seattle, WA

WINE & SPIRITS

FEBRUARY 2021

55
https://www.epicureanwines.com/portfolio/mr-riggs/the-bolter-shiraz/ https://www.wine.com/product/darenberg-the-dead-arm-shiraz-2017/666929 https://www.epicureanwines.com/portfolio/spring-seed-wine-co/spring-seed-scarlet-runner-shiraz/
Wine & Spirits - February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - February 2021
