The Barossa might be famous for its big reds, but with smart ratings from the critics, this is a brilliant example of how cooler climate growers can do shiraz and make it all their own.
Deep purple in colour the nose is all dark fruits, with hints of chocolate, spice, and liquorice. The palate is dominated by the same cherry and plummy flavours, with hints of white pepper and a subtle aspect of cedar oak in the background. The finish is lingering supported with fine grain tannins.
Awards and Accolades
90 Points, Special Value Wine - Steven Creber, Wine Companion "Very much an exercise in cool climate shiraz, and if you like the style this is on the money. Pepper and woody spice dominate the bouquet, the flavours likewise showing savoury, dark earth character rather more than fruit sweetness. The drying tannin is in balance, but obvious enough to suggest this is a wine best enjoyed with food. Pepperoni pizza comes to mind."
From the Winery
Whilst a large proportion of fruit for Swan Bay Shiraz is harvested off a National Trust property which commands views of Port Phillip Bay, Scotchman's Hill also manage considerable vineyard holdings in the Strathbogie Ranges, where they husband and grow some of the region's finest. Grapes are delivered to the wineworks, gently crushed and vinified in closed steel fermenters to retain all the vital characters of slowly ripened Bellarine Shiraz. To add complexity and infuse the tannins with fine charry cocoa and vanillan characters, Swan Bay is treated to fifteen months maturation under a selection of fine French oak barriques.
