What a brilliant find for your (and our) next household red!  The stats on this are simply dazzling for a wine under $10, and while Winston Churchill pointed to “Damned lies and statistics,” rest assured that the juice is top notch.  2005 was an exceptional vintage in South Australia, with near perfect ripening conditions of warm days and a constant gentle breeze turning out big boned and ripe reds with excellent deep tannic structure for longevity.  Blending 100% Shiraz from Barossa, McLaren Vale, Clare and Langhorne Creek, this is a generous and deep wine still showing plenty of primary character with just a little bottle aged character to tame the vivacious fruit spectrum.

It’s made by a star winemaker Corrina Wright (nee Rayment) who principally makes for McLaren Vale’s Oliver’s Taranga.  At 14.5% alcohol it’s rich without being overblown or clumsy, and in all shows a fabulous spectrum of character for the money.  Cinnamon, Chinese five spice, tomato relish, graphite, cocoa chocolate and lifted late summer cherries were all descriptors thrown around by the Hawthorn crew in a leisurely sampling.  The regions represented all show their characters, uncommonly for a blend such as this – enough ruminating, bottom line is it’s frankly streets ahead of any commercial ten buck Shiraz we’ve seen of late.