Lazy Ballerina Shiraz Viognier Love that colour

Lazy Ballerina Shiraz Viognier 2009 (McLaren Vale, SA)
14.5%, Screwcap, $25
Source: Sample
www.lazyballerina.com

The Lazy Ballerina are wines are effectively the side business of notable McLaren Vale viti man James Hook. You can check out some of James’ work over at the DJ Growers blog. When he’s not handing out grape advice he also makes this red, along with a few others under the Lazy Ballerina label.

What I like about this wine is how hearty it is. How much it talks of the Vale, of the hot (heatwave) 09 vintage summer sunshine, of open ferments and traditional winemaking. What I don’t like as much is the alcohol, the scorch, that hint of heaviness that comes from such a vintage. For mine the second characters mar the joy of the first, the dessication something of a distraction.

It all starts with a lovely purple black colour. Like black bitumen with a purple layer. That inky concentration, like a wine reduction (the sauce, not reductive wines) continues on the nose too, along with black lollies and black fruit. It’s a concentrated, lightly confected nose with just a hint of dried peach Viognier. Lots of
glycerol on the palate too, all big and rich flavours. It gets a little hard by mid palate and looks more raw and rather hot towards the back, the acid a spiky kick to finish.

I want to like this as it has heart. I just can’t get over the heat and harsh edges though… 15.8/86