Tim Smith WInes Shiraz 2002 (review)

85 points

Barossa Valley, South Australia. 14.5%

Dark unfiltered sort of colour (looks like there are fine particles in it). Old fashioned sort of nose - hot with tartaric acid giving greasepaint and (more as it gets older) leather aromas.

Big, strong, old fashioned sort of wine in spite of the French oak (new and used), groovy modern minimalist label, and (red) screwcap enclosure.

I was tipped off by Melbourne Street Wine Cellars to this wine, one of the early 2002 releases. They said this was a new winery, well priced, that was going to be cult, ie higher prices later. And all the packaging and french oak (unusual for Barossa shiraz) concurs. But I found the wine hard impenetrable when it was released. Now maybe 2 years later it is more accessible, and comes across like a good but unfashioned wine. There are many old established premium brands that deliver this sort of wine, like Penfolds.

Not really in the company of the new wave of Barossa wines as I previously thought.

To be blunt there is simply too much added acid in this wine, not that it is out of balance, the need for the acid was created in the vineyard.