Well, this sure as hell beats writing an essay I reckon. Tonight, Elle and I are tucking into some Granitevale Estate goodness in the form of Greg Birch`s 2009 Shiraz. I opened the bottle an hour or so ago but to be honest, it could do with a decanter just to let some oxygen work its magic. Anyway, time is a wasting. I swirled the Shiraz around in my glass to open it up a bit and stuck my nose right in deep. Cherries and some dark chocolate were there. Hopefully not putting people off but I get some soft tobacco notes as well. Next, I took a large sip and coated my mouth, pursed my lips and sucked back some O2 as to enhance the flavours on my pallet. Nice, soft tannins were evident and I consider the acidity to be low to medium. This Shiraz has length as the flavours stay with me for a while. Yum!
Shiraz has been around in Australia for a long time. Since the 1830s in fact. I`ve heard it said that our Aus Shiraz or Syrah if you hail from the North, is possibly more like the original Shiraz from France. How is this so? A little bugger of a bug `Phylloxera` caused the French lots of grief by feeding off the roots and leaves of the vines, gradually cutting off the flow of nutrients. Lots of vines were re-planted and tinkered with, hence, the style changed a bit. I could be waffling a bit so hope this makes since. Anyway readers, I`m off to enjoy Elle`s Massamum Curry now which smells terrific. I think the Shiraz will be a good friend to the curry.
Cheers – Suits
