Wishing Tree Shiraz 2002

[ShortWiner]

Bears the label of a group calling itself The Australian Premium Wine Collection. Made from fruit blended from various regions in the western part of the country.

Leather and that menthol-ish Australian thing on the nose. Same on the palate with red & black fruit, a little sweet oak (not too much!), and a full body. Warm, inviting, and fairly complex. 13.5% alchohol. Really a very nice bottle, and at $9, it really should have gone on the Steal Deals forum. I'm contemplating a case, which I don't usually do. Drew, I'm very curious to see what you think of this one, if you can find it.

edit: Went to the Aust. Premium Wine Collection's website, www.tapwc.com.au . Looks like RP gave it an 89.


[This message has been edited by ShortWiner (edited 10-14-2003).]

[Auburnwine]

They (APWC) import some brilliant wines such as Bowen Estate and Elderton. Their lesser wines can be quite good (they have hit with a couple of vintages of the Hill of Content Grenache). Their label is generally an indicator of a high quality wine.

The 2001 Wishing Tree was a happy marriage of price and quality. I am glad to get the positive report on 2002.

[ShortWiner]

Yep, I liked the '01 at a restaurant here (pretty sure there's a thread on that out there), but that year wasn't widely distributed for retail. I'm glad '02 made it.

[megawill]

I drink a fair amount of Shiraz from Down Under (although I'm currently leaning towards Spain for my QPR wines) and I have to say I wasn't overly impressed with this bottle. My wife and I blind tested Wishing Tree and Black Swan (5.99 Super-Market Aussie Shiraz)and felt the two of them were pratically indistinguishable...when that's the case, I'll go with the cheaper bottle....

(maybe I'm just losing my taste for cheap Shiraz after having an S.A. 2001 Fairview Paarl Solitude)

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megawill

[Drew]

Agree, this stuff is all over the place here and highly touted but nothing special, imho.

Drew

[ShortWiner]

*sigh* Ah, well. Headin' back to my gallon of Carlo...

[Drew]

Don't feel bad, SW, I happen to love big overoaked Parker rated shiraz...and I drink it and don't care WHAT Bucko sez. [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]

Drew

[ShortWiner]

Thanks, Drew--I do appreciate unvarnish opinion, though. So what, in your opinion, tops this stuff at 9 bucks or so? I want to do some direct comparing. Keep in mind that I'm not a big oak-head either. I may put it up against a bottle of Woop Woop ($10) that I already have on hand. When I thought of this I realized the Wishing Tree might not stack up. We'll see...



[This message has been edited by ShortWiner (edited 10-25-2003).]

[Drew]

I think the Thorne-Clark line of wines, most under $13 and especially the Milton Park are very good QPR wines. The 2001 Buckley's are good for $10. I still say the South African Cab, Excelsior, is the bargain of the year for $8, and they made 80,000 cases!

DREW

[megawill]

I'm not an especially big fan of Woop Woop either...

Agree with Drew on the Excelsior Cab from S.A...

If we're strictly talking Shiraz, the one of the best values to me right now is actually a Californian one...Pepperwood Grove Syrah (about $7-8)...I haven't had many Austuralian's lately under 10 that I would necessarily warrant as good values/slash buys, that's why I've been branching out to Spain and South Africa for my under $10 bottles. (However, I had some fantastic Aussie Shiraz in the ($17-24) range (Yangarra Park, Penny Hill, Jester))

That being said Alice White ($7-8) makes a pretty nice Shiraz that should be readily available in most markets. Also, it's been awhile since I've had it but the Rosemount Diamond Shiraz ($8-9) is often overlooked because it is so readily available and many see it as supermarket swill but you might try a bottle to see where it stacks against Woop Woop and Wishing Tree...

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megawill

[wondersofwine]

Paringa Shiraz is sometimes found at $8-$10 a bottle and I think it is quite tasty. Rosemount Diamond Label Shiraz is one I have liked in other years but stayed away from current release because I had heard it was going downhill in quality. Some people like Jacob's Creek, and I find it not bad for the price. However, once I tried some $30-$45 Australian shiraz it's hard to really enjoy the less expensive ones.

[Innkeeper]

2003 The Wishing Tree Shiraz, Western Austalia ($9.99 Chambers Street). Alcohol level is 14%. This one is pretty much the way Auburnwine described the '01. Very nice with red and black fruit on the nose and upfront. Shows typical spice and pepper across the palate, and finishes easily.

We matched it with three (yes 3) inch thick lamb shoulder chops (steaks) that had been marinated in our mint and lemon mayonaise all afternoon, and salad in newly made blue cheese dressing. Simply wonderful.

Since I had to armwrestle true love for my share, we will definitely be getting some more.

[Drew]

I'll have to try the '03, IK, I wasn't a fan of the '02, thanks.

Drew