Kerry and I went along to the EDinburgh Cellars Great Shiraz Challenge.
Between Kerry and I we tasted more than 25 great wines over a harrowing 2.5 hours of hustle and bustle in a huge tent in the ED’s carpark. It was great, we both thought that it was well worth the $30/head entry fee.
One of the great things was the amount of large and small wine companies presenting their spoils. Refreshingly many of the tasting areas were manned by the wine maker, winery owner or someone of similar stature. This made for great conversations and allowed us to find other great non-mainstream wineries on the day.
As Kerry (Wine group – 9yrs) and I (Corporate) both worked for SouthCorp (Prior to Fosters), we agreed that we would be looking for the special wines of the day. Well we did grab an RWT on the way out as the last tasting for the day – we are not stupid.
We had a great day overall and purchased and ordered some great wins at the Cellars after the event.
It was great catching up with Barb and Karel from Lengs and Cooter Wines and taste some of their great wines. Barb used to work at SouthCorp for many years and Karl worked at Telstra, but Kerry and I agree that they make great wines.
Of the wines in the winning list below our favourites are:
2006 Woodstock “The Stocks” Shiraz
2004 Bullers Caliope Shiraz
2006 Hentley Farm “The Beast” Shiraz
2005 d’Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz
2006 Glaetzer ‘Bishop’ Shiraz
Other top votes from us for the day are:
2008 Mike Press Adelaide Hills Shiraz (It’s been a long time since we’ve tasted such a good cheap wine)
2007 Honey MoonVineyard Adelaide Hills Shiraz
2004 Lengs & Cooter Old Vines Shiraz
2004 Lengs & Cooter Reserve Shiraz
2005 Artful Dodger Barossa Shiraz
2007 Veronique Regions Shiraz
2006 Cape Jaffa La Lune Biodynamic Shiraz
2006 Ceravolo Sparkling Shiraz
2007 Yelland & Papps Greenock Shiraz
Results – Shiraz Challenge
Shiraz Day 2008 was a massive hit, with a record crowd of over 900 slurping through a field of just over 300 Shiraz. As always, we ask attendees to vote for their favourite wine of the day, and congratulations goes to Clarendon Hills for their superbly compelling 2006 Liandra Shiraz. Here’s the full list of the Top 20:
2006 Clarendon Hills Liandra Syrah
2005 Torbreck Factor Shiraz
2005 Langmeil Freedom 1843 Shiraz
2006 Hentley Farm ‘The Beast’ Shiraz
2005 Whistler Reserve Shiraz
2006 Penfolds RWT Shiraz
2005 Wild Witch Shiraz
2005 d’Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz
2005 Dutschke St Jakobi Shiraz
2006 Woodstock ‘The Stocks’ Shiraz
2006 Brick Kiln Shiraz
2004 Bullers Caliope Shiraz
2006 Hentley Farm ‘The Beauty’
2005 Pikes ‘The E.W.P’ Shiraz
2004 Paracombe Somerville Shiraz
2006 Kalleske Greenock Shiraz
2005 Bendbrook Goat Track Shiraz
2004 Penfolds St Henri Shiraz
2004 Bethany Wines GR9 Reserve
2005 Paxton EJ Shiraz
TOP 20 UNDER $30:
2005 Tin Shed Melting Pot Shiraz
2004 Carlei Estate ‘Green Vineyard’
2004 Majella Shiraz
2007 Torbreck Woodcutters Shiraz
2005 Hugo Shiraz
2006 Tar & Roses Shiraz
2004 Whistler Shiraz
2005 2 Mates Shiraz McLaren Vale
2005 d’Arenberg Footbolt Shiraz
2006 Mitolo Jester Shiraz
2006 Guichen Bay Vineyards Reserve
2006 Pirathon Shiraz by Kalleske
2006 Scarpantoni Block 3 Shiraz
2006 Naked Run Barossa Shiraz
2006 Bird in Hand Shiraz
2006 O’Leary Walker Shiraz
2006 Glaetzer ‘Bishop’ Shiraz
2007 Paxton Quandong Shiraz
2006 Trevor Jones ‘Boots’ Shiraz
2005 Dutschke Gods Hill Road Shiraz
