DAN'S WINE BLOG- THIS WEEK'S WINE REVIEW

THIS WEEK’S WINE REVIEW:

?This week I am talking about one of my all-time favourite Shiraz. Nope, it doesn’t come from the Barossa or McLaren Vale, it comes from Padthaway!

?From its first commercial release, the 1985 vintage, I was beguiled by the awesome Orlando Lawson’s Padthaway Shiraz. From 1985 to 2000, the only two (slightly) sub-par vintages were the cool/wet 1987 and 1989. The rest were truly magnificent, winning a raft of medals every vintage.

?It became my absolute favourite Aussie Shiraz. The characteristics of Padthaway were so distinctive that it got to the stage where I could pick out a Padthaway Shiraz in any blind line-up, be it the Lawson’s, the Eileen Hardy Shiraz or the Browns of Padthaway Shiraz.

?From the turn of the century, I concentrated my wine focus on Emerging Varieties. I have to date written 93 articles on Emerging Varieties, mainly for WBM Magazine and along the way I lost contact with new vintages of Lawson’s Shiraz.?Mind you I still have a few 1990s bottles in my cellar.?So it was with great excitement and anticipation that I received a sample of the Orlando Lawson’s PADTHAWAY 2016 Shiraz, in the mail the other day.

?The Orlando Lawson’s PADTHAWAY 2016 Shiraz is the current release, which at seven-years-old makes it one the most matured current vintage Shiraz in the Australian wine market. Grange is released at four-years-old these days (it used to be five, but the bean counters cut it back to four quite some time ago).

?The Lawson’s PADTHAWAY 2016 Shiraz is a big, yet svelte and elegant wine, i.e. no Barossa Brute. The colour is a deep, dark, dense purple/red. The bouquet is complex and attractive with ripe plums, a goodly splash of fine vanillin oak and some delightful rose petal aromas. Most alluring!

?The palate is superbly silky, smooth and super rich with great depth of flavour and structure. This complex, sophisticated wine has a lovely, long, lingering, elegant finish. It’s raring to be enjoyed right now, yet has the ability to age for at least another decade, becoming more slick and sensational along the way.

?Whilst it no longer has the unique Padthaway flavour characteristics of earlier vintages (it is more cosmopolitan these days), this is a truly magnificent, world-class Shiraz, which offers brilliant value for money.

?I do not prescribe to the 100-point wine system (it is really only a 10-point system as nobody these days will look at a wine under 90 points) but if I did, I would rate the Orlando Lawson’s Padthaway 2016 Shiraz in the top half of the 90s. So do your palate a great favour and scout out a bottle (or few) of this sensational wine.

?Cheers and remember to always #chooseaustralianwine, Dan T.

?Winery Link:?www.orlandowines.com