Taylors Jaraman Shiraz (Clare Valley, Mclaren Vale, SA)
Screwcap, $28

I think this has merit for a blend – Minty, powerful Clare Shiraz meets the mid palate of Australia. It certainly caught the attention of a few judges so far: Plenty of bling on this bottle. The thing to note however is that most of the silverware appears to be from overseas wine shows – on the Australian front this rates little more than a Bronze.

Sadly, I am going to be a Bronze Aussie sheep in this case, as I can’t muster up enough love for this wine. On the nose its coconutty, raisined and oaky, with soupy, heavy fruit that is volatile and a little ungainly. The palate follows the same form – its oaky, big and minty, with chewy oak tannins and hot alcohol on the finish. Its unquestionably too young and will get much better in a yr or 5, but for the moment its just rough and unappealing. 15.7