Longwood Shiraz 2006

92 pts Wine Enthusiast 5/1/2008 Vanilla, toasted coconut and caramel blend more readily with its blackberry core.

Tasting Notes

Known as the Godfather of garage winemaking in McLaren Vale, Phil Christiansen gained his wine knowledge as a master cellarman for 10 years at Tintara winery. Longwood’s success has been its ability to source and ferment small batches of high quality fruit that is sometimes hidden in a larger vineyard. The 06 colour is deep purple. The nose shows raspberry with hints of chocolate and licorice. The flavours are dark red fruits, while the tannins are fine and long. This wine will age well for 7-10 years.

Food Accompaniments

Red Meats

Awards, Reviews and other Notes

92 pts Wine Enthusiast 5/1/2008
Consumers who give this immensely rich and oaky wine a couple of years to come together should reap the rewards around 2010, when the surface layers of vanilla, toasted coconut and caramel blend more readily with its blackberry core. The fruit shows through on the finish, so it should win out in the end.

91 pts Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 2007
Deep, bright ruby. Floral aromas of red and blue fruits, Asian spices and smoky minerals. Juicy and strikingly pure, with sweet raspberry and mulberry flavors, dusty minerality and fine-grained tannins. Gains weight and richness with air, finishing with excellent cut and persistence. A late note of bitter cherry adds grip and helps to focus the exuberant fruit.

90 pts Robert Parker, Jr.'s The Wine Advocate #173
Deep purple, the nose offers up cedar, smoke, meat, black raspberry, and a whiff of chocolate. This leads to a ripe, structured wine with excellent depth and lots of flavor. It will evolve for 2-3 years and provide pleasure through 2020.

90 pts Wine & Spirits February 2009
Youthful and fresh, this shiraz offers a sweet and savory balance of lush blueberry fruit and juicy tannins. It's simple and satisfying with roast lamb on the bone with rosemary.

87 pts Wine Spectator
Firm in texture, a medium-weight red with a green olive note adding interest to the cherry and spice flavors.

Winemaker Notes

Wines are fermented in 1 and 2 ton open fermenters. Hand plunged 3 times daily and pressed through a 1 ton basket press directly to oak where it will complete malolactic fermentation. Wine is racked 3 times prior to bottling.

Chemical Analysis

Price

SKU

Varietal

Alcohol %: 14.7%
Total Acid: 6.5
Free/Total Sulfur: 28/75
pH: 3.52
Residual Sugar: 0.2

$29.99

6986

Shiraz