WTN: Laughing Jack Shiraz 2004 + Q: big bruisers

Laughing Jack Shiraz 2004 - 15% abv; 26,30€; from Greenock, Barossa; S & K Wines of Kallaske and Schroeter. 20 months in American (60%) and French (40%) oak of which 20% was new.



Dark fruit, very concentrated, full of tar and mulberry scents with some savoury/spicy-eucalyptus/earthy aromas that provide a welcome counterpoint to the powerful fruit. The oak and alcohol are amazingly well hidden on the scent: it doesn't seem like an OTT Barossa. Sadly the alcohol is rather more noticeable on the palate. It does have rather nice tannins and a fair amount of acidity, too, so it isn't only a fruit-bomb. I hadn't heard of this producer before, but assuming that one likes Barossa Shiraz (not really the wine of my choice, so I might be very wrong in this recommendation), I think this is a very true and good example of it - at least my guest enjoyed it tremendously.


I am working on a small project with a friend who happens to enjoy these big bruisers, so can anyone recommend from this list of Aussies what would be a good buy considering that our tastes are almost polar opposites? Anything in this list that should be agreeable to us both?

Jacob's Creek Centenary Hill Shiraz '04
Jacob's Creek St. Hugo Cab Sauv '04
Ben Glaetzer Wallace Shiraz Grenache '07
Rosemount GSM '04
Spinifex Papillon '06
Torzi Matthews Frost Doger Shiraz '03
Cape Mentelle Shiraz '06
Jim Barry McRae Wood Shiraz '04
Hewitson Old Garden Mourvèdre '06

I was thinking on past vintages, that perhaps the Hewitson should do? I have their Miss Harry GSM '07 for tomorrow but something more up-market might be welcome for future sessions.

I've gotten bored of wines like these in general - I'll occasionally drink the odd giant from Barossa Valley or McLaren Vale every now and then for a change, but most of the time my Aussie dollars are going to cooler climate and more balanced wines from Victoria, WA or the cooler South Australian appellations like Coonawarra with generally less alcohol and density.

That said from the list - Hewitson Old Garden Mourvedre is a great buy vintage to vintage. If you can only get the 06 though be sure to give it a lot of air - it's a wine that is built for the long haul. Big but very well balanced.
Torzi Matthews Frost Dodger Shiraz should be interesting and definitely worth trying - I've really liked their Schist Rock (from the much cooler Eden Valley) and more acid-and-mineral driven Shirazes out there. No experience with the Frost Dodger but probably worth trying. If it's in the same style as Schist Rock, I reckon you might enjoy it, but not so sure about people who're more fond of the giant oak-blueberry-alcohol goop that WA's Jay Miller gushes over. [FWIW, JSM damned that in the Wine Advocate - called it lean and tart, if that's any indication of how un-goopy the Torzi wines are.]
Jacob's Creek St. Hugo Cab is definitely worth a buy... classic Coonawarra red, had it a couple of times recently and it was very good. 14.5% alc but very well balanced (if a bit too young with the oak just needing to integrate a bit more with time).

Thanks Salil, I think I'll try the Hewitson in our next meeting - it sounds like it might be see enough common ground for both of us to enjoy it.

That name 'Laughing Jack' would sure make me suspicious.

But, it sounds like it was ok.

Rahsaan, as I tried to insert between the lines, this wasn't as offensive as most other big Barossa bruisers I have come across. But I certainly wouldn't suggest that you seek it out.

• 2006 Hewitson Mourvedre Old Garden - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley (8/11/2009)
  30€; 14,5% abv; 6,7g/l acidity. The scent is full of sweet, dark fruit but has some pleasant, savoury touches, too, that are indicative of the grape though there is plenty of potentially obfuscating oak-spice, too - but for a wine that stays 18 months in new barrique, the oak is more integrated than I expected. Very full bodied and sweet but it also has fair structure: soft tannins but nicely lively acidity. The alcohol does stick out too much, however. Less oak and less alcohol and I think I would have enjoyed this quite a bit. It is very primary now and needs some age.

Posted from CellarTracker

More to follow in the near future... Thanks again for the recommendations!

Otto,
I taste a number of Australian reds, particularly Shiraz, so probably have a reasonable palate alignment to the style given my conditioning to them over a number of years. That said, I so enjoy a light, pretty Pinot Noir as well as a full bodied Shiraz 'grunter' of a Shiraz, but the latter do need to be tasted at the right place and the right time and they are not beverage wines - they need some food to soak up the alcohol - whether a steak from the barbie (grill), which is great in summer, a hearty meal in the winter, or simply bread and some type of cheddar-style cheese.

I recently tasted the Jacobs Creek Centenary Hill Shiraz 2004 and personally thought the best Aus Shiraz I've tasted all year. In fact, given some of the massive wines I've tasted from South Australia, I'm not sure if I would classify it as a 'grunter'.

My note from my blog of June 23rd indicates that it needs to be decanted.

Jacob's Creek Centenary Hill Barossa Valley Shiraz 2004 is .... inky purple black in colour and has a texture that is so fine it seems silky and seamless. Smoky, savoury, spicy, concentrated and intense - and very tight - it has loads of pepper with a big chocolate mid palate and classy, well integrated oak. The next day is when those shivers of ecstasy happened - just wow, wow, wow! Minty and chocolatey with juicy mulberry fruit, gorgeous mocha-like oak and that sensational texture. Found some dregs when going through a box of partly consumed wines last night. It was eight days after it was first opened and, OMG, it was still absolutely sensational.
(24 months in new American oak, two years in bottle before release, 14.5% alcohol on label, natural cork closure).

So I have procured another bottle to enjoy with good friends later in the year - probably with a juicy, pepper-seasoned steak on the barbie! On the other hand, I may leave it until next June to see what it is like a year later.

Cheers,
Sue