Larry Cherubino Shiraz 2007 (Frankland River, WA)I’ve got to confess that I regularly struggle with Great Southern Shiraz. I love Great Southern Riesling, enjoy the Chardonnay and regularly dig the Cabernets, but Shiraz remains a far more mercurial beast for mine, with wines that I find carry a green note which I do not enjoy in Shiraz. I’m alone again on this, but again it’s a personal preference. Interesting that I don’t mind greenness in Cabernet though…
This, like some of Larry’s other Shiraz, is built firm and dry. It smells very serious, with a peppered black fruit nose overlaid with a mulchy pong. It is obviously ripe, but also somewhat tough, firm and a little uncompromising. The palate is surprisingly sweet, if spicy, with sweet musky fruit cast ripe and spicy. It’s a tad too firm and even slightly disjointed to be brutally honest, with warmth through the finish. But something in the back of my head is telling me that this just needs some time. Score reflects this. 17.4/91+
5 Comments
No, not alone. I almost always absolutely hate any tinge of green in Shiraz and, even if the rest of the wine is very good, a green streak will prevent me from buying any to cellar. It can be a valid part of the Cabernet et al. profile of course. I've not tried this wine though.
MichaelC
Do you like Great Southern Shiraz Michael? I'm interested to see what others think about the style in general as obviously I find them not completely to my tastes. Not typically a fan of Margaret River Shiraz either.
Andrew, I've only had one or two or three Great Southern or Frankland River Shirazes (plural?), mainly at restaurants or functions, and they were rather more commercial examples, so I'm not well equipped with a view – suffice it to say that I do not actively seek them out. Don't plan on me being your guinea pig!!
As for MR Shiraz, I'm yet to be convinced. Voyager, for example, can tend to have a tomato bush character that I find a bit challenging, and Cape Mentelle, even from vintages such as 2007 (very ripe), has something about it that i don't quite like – a sort of generosity without resolve, and a thread of lurking something that sits ill at ease with the rest of the wine. Again, I don't seek them out, so am not 100% up-to-date (far from it) on MR Shiraz developments.
Keep up the good work on this site – you swim a bit against the stream, whilst being able to recognize quality when the style doesn't please you at a personal level, and wine journalism or commentary or whatever needs more of that (as we do in many discourses of life).
MichaelC
Thanks Michael,
Glad to hear that this little site is appreciated.
Now I'm totally with you on Margaret River Shiraz. It's Cabernet territory in my opinion (and the climate stats back that up too) and too often there is a black olive (and tomato bush) character that I never really enjoy. Lots of others do however and obviously that's perfectly fine.
Great Southern Shiraz just seems that little bit leaner again, with a hammy/green edge that I also occasionally see in Hawkes Bay Shiraz. There are exceptions of course, but I'd still choose a Great Southern Cabernet over a Shiraz any day…
Difficult vintage with plenty of warmth, but seed tannin ripeness not keeping up with the skin tannin ripeness (maybe green seed tannin notes you are seeing??). Frankland almost always seems to me rich/ripe black plums and licorice, Mt Barker spicy spicy medium bodied savoury bliss, Porongorups in a warmer year the intense balance of spice and unbelievable fruit length, Denmark and Albany can have their day too…..
Cheers
AndrewM