Sally’s Hill Shiraz 2008 (Pyrenees, Vic)
15.5%, Diam, $22
Source: Sample
www.sallyspaddock.com.au

This comes from Neil Robb’s ‘Sally’s Paddock’ vineyard in the Pyrenees and is handpicked, basket pressed and hand punched. That’s an awful lot of energy for a $22 wine, and it definitely carries a level of detail not often seen at this pricepoint. Big positive.

For all that artisan winemaking though, this is carrying the scars of the roasting vintage all over it’s body. It kicks off with a nose that’s concentrated and fruit heavy, yet also volatile and stewed, the unmistakable aroma of overripe fruit hard to ignore. Still, there’s real fruit underneath it all, if just too ripe for enjoyment. The palate too has a basket pressed richness and structure unknown at the pricepoint. That again can’t hide the stewed fruit and drying, hard tannins though, the sweet jammy mid palate fruit not enough to balance the hardness of the finish.

Ultimately it’s something of a hard drink this, but I’d be very keen to see other vintages, for both the winemaking and underlying viticulture speak of real quality. 16/87