Australia is a huge country with wine growing regions spread from coast to coast. There are a wide range of styles and quality available from down under and to be honest much of the stuff we see here is plonk. Too many of the Aussie producers opted for quantity rather than quality and the result of high yields and overly manipulated juice is dull, insipid wine – plonk.

There are thankfully a number of producers who restrict yields, carefully select the best grapes and make fantastic wines, some of them reaching cult status. We had a chance to taste a few heavy hitters from South Australia this week. Did they live up to the hype?

WS – Wine Spectator    RP – Robert Parker Wine Enthusiast

2001 Yalumba ‘The Reserve’ Cabernet/Shiraz    96 Pts RP    95 Pts WS $115
The 2001 The Reserve is 74% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Shiraz aged for 20 months in 70% new French oak hogsheads. From old vines with low yields, the wine is densely colored and glass-coating. The aromatics are stunning: blackberry, cherry, licorice soar out of the glass and continue on to the palate. Very powerful with a long, long finish.

2004 Jim Barry ‘The Armaugh’ Shiraz   98 Pts RP    95 Pts WS $160
The Armagh, a 100% Shiraz aged 16 months in French and American oak. It is an opaque purple-hued, super-intense effort displaying great precision and richness. Notes of melted asphalt, acacia flowers, blueberries, blackberries, charcoal, and espresso roast emerge from this full, dense, opulent Shiraz. The finish lasts for over 45 seconds.

2002 Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz    98 Pts RP    98 Pts WS $550
The 2002 is 100% Shiraz aged 18 months in 100% new French and American oak. It boasts an inky/blue/purple color as well as extraordinary uplifted aromatics of acacia flowers, ground pepper, espresso roast, blackberries, cassis, chocolate, and smoke.

The verdict? Incredibly powerful wines to be sure and if  my bank account had a few more zeros in front of the decimal place I wouldn’t mind shelling out big bones for these wines but we got to taste some other less heralded wines that gave me almost as much pleasure at a fraction of the cost.

2003 Yalumba ‘The Signature’ Cabernet/Shiraz   92 Pts RP $45
A blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Shiraz from Barossa estate vineyards, the 2003 The Signature is a big, chunky, heady red that reveals an inky/purple color, impressive levels of richness, and sweet notes of charcoal, acacia flowers, blackberries, tar, and pepper. Long, long finish.

2004 Henschke Keyneton Estate   92 Pts RP $40
The Keyneton is 40% Shiraz, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc. Deep crimson in color. Spicy sweet aromas of plums, anise, blueberries and cassis with hints of smoky tar, vanilla, cedar and minty nuances. The palate is sweet and ripe with lush blackberry fruits, complex with excellent depth and concentration, velvety fine-grained tannins and excellent length.

Good on ya mate!