McKellar Ridge Shiraz Viognier 2007

Rating

Quality: Recommended

Value: Average

At a glance...

Complexity/Character: Aromas of earth and pepper with some red berry and plum on the nose; a little inky, too. Down the gullet, some pepper, hints of meat, a touch of earth. The fruit profile is mostly blackberry and plum, with the viognier adding a touch of sweetness.

Balance: Reasonable balance. A touch nervy but the wine fleshes out with extended breathing. Depending on your tastes, the viognier edge might be a little too much.

Length:  Reasonable. Improved as the wine fleshed out with breathing.

Region: Canberra District, Australia

Price: A$24

Alc/vol: 14.5% alc/vol

Source: Cellar door.

Tasting Notes:

I grabbed a bottle of this from the cellar door on my recent trip to Canberra. For those who’ve never been, Canberra is like a big field of crop circles, except that it is less interesting and the circles have been tarmac’d and are used as roads. The good news it that there is a burgeoning network of wineries in the outskirts of Canberra. The region shows real promise as source of some high quality Rhone-style wines (especially shiraz and viognier).

This wine is a lot like the region – showing potential but still not quite there yet. Although there is only a small dose of viognier, I found it hadn’t integrated well with the shiraz and added a sweet glaze to the finish. I suspect the oak treatment exaggerated the effect.

On the positive side, the wine definitely improved over two nights, showing more substance and body and some interesting savoury characters. Gets a Recommended rating because I think this will come together into something quite enjoyable in a few years..