- Central Ranges, NSW - $12-$20
- Screwcap
- 14.0%alc
In today's modern Australian wine market there appears to be growing exposure given to good NSW-based shiraz labels within the $15-$20 price bracket. From various regions names like Mount Pleasant's Philip, Barwang, Printhie and Cumulus' Rolling push this trend, with their affordable wines proving more than capable of matching the value for money offered by their better known South Australian counterparts.
Attractively floral and spicy, Rolling's 2008 Shiraz displays straight forward yet heady aromas of red berries, plums and dried apricots backed by white pepper, clove and older oak. Very soft, approachable and beset with minimal tannins, the bright palate presents itself as full and juicy on entry but thins out down the stretch, finishing with gentle spices and touches of ultra-ripe berry/apricot flavour.
O At its discounted price the 2008 Rolling happily holds its own against other similarly priced Australian shiraz. It's a more than acceptable quaffing style, which would be best drunk with minimal fuss. Drink to 2012.
87 points
Great to see you review this wine and touch on the good value Reds coming from NSW - us New South Welshmen are almost ashamed of our wine, and that is a shame! Though this wine (from this vintage) will never compete with the elites, I agree for at its discounted price it is good value.
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Rod
Thanks Rod,
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely a big fan of the NSW wines I've mentioned here in this post, but like you've said, it's unlikely this 2008 Rolling will go down with some of the recent great wines to come out of those labels, such as Mount Pleasant's 2007 Philip and the 2007 Barwang Shiraz. However, I can't say I'm a fan of McWilliam's proposed/rumoured moves to turn those two wines into cross regional blends (is anyone?). Surely they'll have an even harder time competing with all the various Barossa/McLaren Vale/Clare labels when (or if) their wines are labelled with the much broader, rather generic New South Wales tag, which isn't really a name your run-of-the-mill wine consumer associates with good shiraz.
I've been reading a lot of Sydney based food and wine bloggers lately (there's a lot of them now!) and you're right, some N.S.Welshmen seem a bit ashamed of the local product, or at least certainly on comparative terms to South Australian shiraz, which almost everyone seems to know and love.
Still, the SA brands have been around for some time now and are well established in retail circles and restaurants.
Cheers,
Chris P
special offer and 30% off in my bottle shop. Get in...
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