I'm a sucker for McLaren Vale Shiraz, and tend to prefer its flavour profile to some other nearby regions. There often seems a thread of bitter chocolate running through the most typical wines that meshes well with a what is frequently a dark fruit flavour profile. Yes, I declare a decided preference for this style, and it's gratifying to have an especially good example in front of me now.
Really complex aromas of cocoa, fresh plums and freshly harvested root vegetables (pulled out by the stalks). There's also smoky oak of the high quality kind. The smells are great, but what impresses me most is the nose's density and coherence. It's akin to the highest quality drapery; luxurious, textured and totally seamless. A bit of bottle age too, as much a mellow glow as any particular aroma.
The palate is remarkably youthful. LIke the Teusner Riebke tasted the other day, this wine shows a vibrantly fresh fruit character that is totally beguiling and begs to be drunk. The entry is velvet smooth, introducing fresh black plums and chocolate along with a mouthfeel that immediately begins to stroke the tongue with fine tannins. Things chug along very nicely towards the middle palate, which is fairly flooded with flavour. It's medium to full bodied, not a bruiser at all, and I enjoy the relative restraint in what could easily become an over-the-top wine. As it is, it's almost elegant, and is certainly well balanced. The after palate is quite mellow after the rush of flavour that precedes it and casually introduces a finish that shows a good deal of vanilla oak alongside a last gasp of dark stonefruit.
It's not perfect by any means (perhaps too much oak, and a slight thread of green that is questionable) but I'm giving in to this wine's charms irrespective of its flaws. It's that sort of wine.
Incidentally, I can't for the life of me figure out what's going on with the branding with this wine, and the Constellation website isn't much help. Neither is the Tintara site. I've listed the latter below as much for completeness as anything else.
Mmmmm, bitter chocolate (drools on keyboard)...
And "the Constellation website isn't much help"-
you can remove the words "the" & "website" for parsimony I reckon ;)
cheers
j
"freshly harvested root vegetables (pulled out by the stalks)"
Great comments keep up the good work.
Hi Wade,
You caught me at a more esoteric moment than usual! Sometimes, though, a smell or flavour just seems to appear strongly in one's mind while tasting. I guess this was one of those cases!
Appreciate the kind comment.
Cheers,
Julian.