Shiraz is unquestionably the red wine grape that held Australia’s wine industry together for more than a century. Found wherever vineyards are planted, Shiraz is used prolifically in both red table wines and fortified styles. It is the most widely-planted of the quality red wine grapes in Australia, even though its popularity has taken a beating with the `white-wine revival’ of the late ‘seventies and early ‘eighties. Given its huge role in Australian wine, it is highly unlikely that the wines that will make Shiraz’s future will have much at all in common with those that built its past. The traditional Australian Shiraz has been a soft, fleshy wine with a degree of tannic extract to demand at least five years to cool its heels in a cellar prior to consumption. It has become clearly obvious to the wine consumer today that reds just ain’t what they used to be, and if many modern wines – of all genders and persuasions – were kept for the five-year period previously regarded as statutory, they would, in the very least, be good for nothing more than the fish and chips. It’s not my purpose here to dwell into the reasons for these dramatic changes – both in approach to winemaking and styles made – but to recognise that they exist. But the news is not all bad. The advances made in red winemaking technology over the same period have meant that very little, if any, sacrifice in flavour has had to be made. It is now possible to make lighter-bodied reds with at least a comparable degree of taste – which is what it all comes down to eventually – as the richer, bolder wines of the past. Australia’s generally warm climate suits it well to the production of lighter, less-astringent reds, many of which are being made with Shiraz. As our own wine-drinking public and export markets gradually awaken to the joys of lighter Australian reds, more and more Shiraz will be gainfully crushed to this end. The now commonly-used technique of carbonic maceration will contribute more to the delicacy and finesse of many top Australian Shiraz. It is a variety particularly well-suited to whole-berry fermentation, for its inherent peppery, spicy and redcurrant flavours are frequently enhanced by the jamminess and softness given the wine by this technique. It would not be an impossible dream for our wines one day to become as sought-oafter around the world as Beaujolais is today. Another change in the role of modern Shiraz will be in its use as a `blender’ with Cabernet Sauvignon. In the past we have always had enough Shiraz on hand to tip into tanks of hollow, or `doughnut’ Cabernets, which through a form of winemaking birth-deformity, have come into the world one-short in the middle palate department. Its soft nature and depth on the middle palate have helped Shiraz to fill out these wines, and achieve what we call an even flavour-profile down the palate, which means in short that you can taste it all the way down without a gap popping up somewhere in between. However, in actual fact many winemakers now believe that better alternatives to Shiraz can be found to do the job today. Although hardly found in Australia in noxious proportions, the other Bordeaux varieties of Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc are being used in much the same way that Shiraz has been for decades. There are two reasons why they are being preferred to Shiraz. Firstly, Shiraz has a flat flavour profile down the palate that is even enough, but which rarely reaches the intensity of Cabernet Sauvignon. Therefore Shiraz may in fact depress the flavours of Cabernet, often to the detriment of the wine. The other Bordeaux red varieties, especially Merlot and Cabernet Franc, have flavour profiles far more complementary with that of Cabernet Sauvignon. Then there is the matter of flavour. Most of Australia’s Shiraz is grown in warm to hot climates, where it makes richer, full-flavoured wine. These tend to compete directly with the more elegant flavours of Cabernet Sauvignon – a grape variety able to make a remarkable consistency of flavours in a huge range of different climates. And as you move further south in Australia (or to cooler regions generally), you find that Shiraz makes a wine with far more spice and black-pepper character, epitomised by people like Jasper Hill and Knights in Victoria, and Houghtons in the Frankland River of Western Australia. The cooler you get, the more minty and herbaceous the Cabernet becomes, so once again we find the two varieties moving in different directions, and therefore may not be suited to being blended together. Of course I am talking in generalisations; and of course it is very difficult not to when talking about wine. What then, is the future for dry red Shiraz wine, of more body than the lighter wines I began by discussing? I believe it is through winemakers having the self-confidence to release their premium Shiraz un-blended with other varieties, the odd percentage for a particular reason excluded. f The wine should be treated with the same care and expense as the equivalent premium Cabernet, and priced accordingly. The public are aware that you pay for what you get today, and if people are going to charge ten, fifteen dollars or so for their Shiraz it had better be good. It can be, and it already is. Take these examples. Laira’s Coonawarra Original Vineyard Shiraz, Henschke’s Mount Edelstone, Campbells Bobbie Burns, Baileys Bundarra, Wrights Margaret River, Mitchells Watervale Shiraz, the Jasper Hill already mentioned, the Balgownie, and on… All these are excellent, and very cheap. One day I hope that winemakers will be properly rewarded for making wines of this quality. So I am unquestionably optimistic of Shiraz’s future in Australia. Both the winemakers and the public need to be told that any inferiority complex is purely in their own minds, and that Shiraz is as fine a variety as it is versatile. It will always be a significant part of our winemaking future in Australia. Funny thing, though. Having said all that, I’ve a feeling that it’s exactly what you wanted to hear…
