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  • About Me – Andrew Graham
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  • Beer

Wolf Blass Grey Label Shiraz 2007

June 3, 2009

Wolf Blass Grey Label Shiraz 2007 (Mclaren vale, SA)
$40, Screwcap, 15.5%
Winery Website

In truth, this bottle is probably wasted on me – I’m just very unlikely to appreciate it. The alcohol, the extreme youth, the caricature of a style, the stupendous ripeness, it all cumulatively goes against everything that I enjoy in wine. Still, I tried my utmost to be objective, but it was hard not to rant….

Black in colour. It is actually black. The edges are dark red, but otherwise its purpley black.
Initially it smelled quite lush – rich oak & really deep dark fruit. But after a couple of hours in the glass it fell apart. Now (opened for 4 hours) it smells like dead fruit. Dead, strained, picked way too late & already fading. Burnt fruitcake, prunes, burnt things. With a swirl out comes some blackberries & raspberry jam. No freshness though. To be honest, I don’t even want to drink it.

The palate is thankfully not as soul destroying as the nose. Its undoubtedly overripe, but at least it tastes firm, jammy & wine-ish, with overcooked fig paste & black fruits on the palate. The finish is confected, harsh & the tannins taste not quite right, but at least its recognisable as wine. Surprisingly, the alcohol doesnt destroy the finish, the aftertaste just tasting prunish and wrong.

In the end, I was going to just label this as an abomination that should never have been released and been done with it. But that’s ignoring the nuances underneath. Ultimately, its just a very ripe Shiraz from a challenging year, built in a style that I just don’t like. Subjectively I hate the stuff, objectively its just an average wine. Either way its not a wine I could ever recommend. 13.8

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  • About me – Andrew Graham


    At 18 I started working in a small suburban bottleshop, largely to buy cheap beer. It was my first year of university, doing a degree that I didn't really like, and a liquor shop seemed like fun. Needless to say I discovered wine, my uni degree morphed into something completely different and wine/beer took over my life.

    Almost twenty years later and I currently spend my days wearing many (wine) hats, mostly as a writer, presenter and marketer.

    While wearing my writer cap I write features for the likes of National Liquor News, Gourmet Traveller WINE and the RAS plus I'm a Lifestyle FOOD channel wine expert. Read more about me here or get in touch to book your next wine event with me here.

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