1997 Mt. Langhi Ghiran Langhi Shiraz

[dananne]

This Shiraz comes from Victoria. We really used to love Mt. Langhi Ghiran wines, particularly the Billi Billi Creek red, which was always a stellar wine value in the mid-teens. For some reason, as we moved away from Aussie juice, we've also moved away from this winery. Last night, as I watched my beloved Green Bay Packers, I wanted to open a wine from 1997, which was the last time the Pack won a title. Yes, I'm superstitous.

This one was absolutely killer, and aged just perfectly. We were floored by the depth, length, and concentration. Aussie wines are sometimes all lumped into the "all fruit, nothing else" category, but this one offered aromas of saddle leather, smoke, and pepper, with layered flavors of dark berries, coffee, vanilla, and spice. Tannins had rounded, but they were still there to provide bones to the flesh, and the acidity was such that it was round, but lively in the mouth. The aromas filled the room like a fresh-baked blackberry pie, and the finish lingered seemingly forever. Top notch juice. This is what I love about this wine -- Aussie Shiraz, big flavors, you'd guess 14%+ alc., right? Nope. 13% alc. You read that right. Awesome stuff. It ran us about $35 locally all those years ago, when a $30 wine was a major splurge for a couple of neophyte wine explorers. So glad to have made the purchase, and glad to have kept my hands off it to allow it to age appropriately. I think it had been in our cellar longer than any other wine -- we probably cellared it since about '99. Anything else we bought back in the old days is probably long gone by now.

Certainly, it was enough to warrant renewed exploration of the Aussie wine aisle. It also makes me wonder why we've ignored them of late. Obviously, there's more in that aisle than high alcohol fruit punch.

[winoweenie]

Put me in the same catagory big D. I've shied away from Aussie wines when zGrange went over 150. Will see what this producer is doing now. Tankee. WW

[wondersofwine]

Terrific note, Dan!