- South Australia - $7-$15
- Screwcap
- 13.5%alc
At first glance Taylors appear to have an overcrowded lower end, but closer inspection reveals there are subtle differences between Taylors' trio of sub-$20 labels. The highly recognised white label, or Estate range, represents a collection of single varietal wines sourced from either Clare or the Adelaide Hills, or both. Next up, Eighty Acres stands as a group of Clare Valley wines made with 'carbon neutral' ideals. Then finally, Promised Land resides as Taylors' outpost for fairly predictable, multi-region blends, the sort you see everywhere.
Ripe boysenberry and and sour-edged fruit aromas rise from the glass of Taylors' 2010 Promised Land Shiraz, with an additional leafy, herbal note. On first sniff, it smells slightly marijuana-like, but its green edges settle almost immediately, disappearing into a fruity nose with spicy fruitcake scents, leaving a fragrance which is simple and inoffensive, if fractionally indistinct. In the mouth it's quite round and all about plummy, raisiny, straight-up-front flavour, as it extends particularly loose and soft, showing touches of sweet oak and warm fruit, yet it finishes without any genuine direction or focus. A little more structure would've gone a long way here, but it is cheap and that's how it tastes.
O A step up from cask red, but not a big one. It's a wine 'to drink with friends' (because you'll wanna be distracted from it somewhat). Drink to 2012.
85 points
"it finishes without any genuine direction or focus"
ReplyDeleteI agree. Have you tried the other Promised Land wines??
Thanks Lincoln, it's good know I'm not alone in my thoughts sometimes ;)
ReplyDeleteI've had the cabernet sauvignon, but I actually preferred the shiraz, just. I though the cabernet was a little more ambitious, but the shiraz more the type of wine I could just smash down aimlessly with friends. The merlot's still on the bench :)
I had a look and your write-up and I'll have to admit, the comparative tasting makes a lot of sense. I'm just so stubborn and insistent on reviewing wines individually on Australian Wine Journal. Wo is me :-{
Would love to know how the blending went though. I could see a deftly merged touch of cabernet into shiraz improving both products, possibly :)
Cheers,
Chris P
I just opened a bottle of Promised Land Cab Merlot 2008 and was surprised, given the previous reviews, to find it had aged very well and was without doubt several steps up from a cask wine ;) Definitley one of the better wines of this price point that I have had recently.
ReplyDeleteChris Hallam