Classic Tahbilk 2017 cool-climate shiraz our bounty from China wine war
High-quality wines, earmarked for China, are now being offered here at brilliant prices.
Thank you, China: your loss is our gain.
High-quality Australian wines, due to be exported to China, are now being offered to local wine lovers – at very good prices – in the wake of Beijing’s trade freeze.
Take Victoria’s historic Tahbilk winery: home to some of the oldest Shiraz vines on the planet; winner of 81 trophies and 342 gold medals over the past 50 years; the James Halliday Winery of the Year in 2016; and internationally recognised as one of Australia’s greatest wine producers.
Tahbilk is offering up to The Australian Wine Club a 2017 cool-climate shiraz, packed with intense red fruit flavours and previously earmarked for China, at a brilliant price. The Tahbilk Ambassador Shiraz is one of four cool-climate reds in a special club dozen this week, joining a seductive Adelaide Hills shiraz, a classic West Australian cabernet merlot and a high-class cabernet blend from a revered Eden Valley vineyard.
Tahbilk winemaker Alister Purbrick, the fourth generation of his family to run the iconic brand, has spent decades travelling the world, educating wine drinkers in emerging markets and building trade relationships. But like other globally respected Australian producers, he has seen Tahbilk’s China trade grind to a halt over the past year.
“We’ve had to look at moving wine that was going to be exclusive to China to people elsewhere,’’ he told me. “To be honest, we’re overwhelmed with the support we’ve received so far.’’
The 2017 Ambassador is truly China’s loss as it comes from a vintage that was close to perfect: good rains and a relatively cool year meant a full ripening season with fruit being picked in mid-May.
“There were no Mother Nature interruptions so we had great quality and also higher than normal volumes,’’ said Alister, who took over winemaking duties from his grandfather Eric in 1979.
We’re talking deep red berry flavours, mingling with spicy black and white pepper characters, carried to an ultra-smooth finish.
“Cool-climate shiraz is perhaps more elegant, more mid-weighted than the bigger styles you’ll find in the Barossa and McLaren Vale,’’ Alister said.
Alister’s great grandfather Reginald (once a drinking buddy of Winston Churchill in London) purchased the Tahbilk property in central Victoria’s Nagambie Lakes in 1925. The 120ha property boasts shiraz vines planted in 1860 (thought to be the third-oldest in the world), rich river flats that front the Goulburn River, and a network of permanent backwaters and creeks.
Alister’s daughter Hayley is the fifth generation of Purbricks to play a key role in the family business, driving a carbon-neutral strategy with an “accountant’s eye and an eco-warrior stance”.
Tahbilk Ambassador Shiraz 2017
Spinning a finely woven veil of intense redcurrants, violets and forest herbs, the Ambassador epitomises elegance in a bottle. The fruits are spiced with black and white peppers, while vanilla and cedar notes play in the background. Full-flavoured but riding on a delicate, medium-bodied frame. 13.9% alc RRP $42.95. SPECIAL $19.99 a bottle in any dozen
Riposte The Cutlass Single Vineyard Shiraz 2018
Winemaking veteran Tim Knappstein crafts an Adelaide Hills shiraz flowing with plums, blueberries and raspberries, mingling with gentle spice and vanilla undercurrents. Slinky and seductive, The Cutlass flashes, entertains and reminds us of its creator’s
class. Scored 94 points from Team Halliday. 14% alc. RRP $29. SPECIAL $24.65 a bottle in any dozen
Mountadam Vineyards The Red High Eden 2017
From one of the highest-located vineyards in the Barossa’s Eden Valley comes this deeply layered, textural blend of cabernet sauvignon (67%) and merlot (33%). The late David Wynn founded Mountadam in 1972, recognising the potential of the elevated site to produce wines of elegance and structure. Dark currants swirl with coffee, choc mint and dried tobacco notes to a long savoury finish. A serious wine from a producer on the rise. 14% alc. RRP $40. SPECIAL $34 a bottle in any dozen
Willow Bridge Estate Dragonfly Cabernet Merlot 2019
Pure and fresh, this is a classic West Australian cabernet blend. Vibrant mulberry and blackberry flavours with bay leaf and mint in the background. Matured in fine French oak hogsheads. Exceptional value. 14% alc. RRP $22. SPECIAL $18.70 a bottle in any dozen
SPECIAL CLUB DOZEN Three bottles of each wine at $19.99 a bottle
Order online or telephone 1300 765 359 Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm AEST. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaite’s Wine People
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