The Wines We Tasted:
2000 Robertson, S Africa (Sauv Blanc)
2000 Bellingham, S Africa
2000 Santa Carolina Barrica Select, Chile
2000 Caliterra Arboleda, Chile
2000 Peter Lehman Barossa, Australia
2000 Stellenzicht Golden Triangle, S A
1999 Finca Flichman Reserva, Argentina
1999 Fairview Cyril Back, S Africa
1998 Landskroon Estate, S Africa
1998 Hardys Tintara, Australia

Our Setting:
Seasons in the Park Restaurant,
Queen Elizabeth Park

Our reception wine was the 2000 Robertson Sauvignon Blanc Estate, which with it's reasonable price, around $11, and its fresh gooseberry taste, is a good buy.

Lance began the Shiraz tasting by giving us some background on the Shiraz, or Syrah, grape as it is also known. He covered it's favorite growing conditions and where different countries have planted these grapes so that they can reach their full potential. Lance then discussed the general wine style for each of the regions of the world that we would be tasting Shiraz wine; those being South Africa, Chile and Australia. Australian Shiraz having a typically big fruit aroma and flavour, while Chile has a more classic European style, and South Africa a style somewhere between the other styles. Another note regarding many of these wines was the high alcohol content, around 14%.

The Bellingham 2000 from South Africa has a light rosy appearance. It's bouquet was soft, sweetish, with chocolate and prunes. After this wine breathed a bit longer in the glass, licorice was also detected. The taste had a sweet entry followed with stewed fruit, prunes and strawberry flavours. Again the licorice taste was evident as the wine breathed in the glass during the tasting.

The second wine, the Santa Carolina Barrica Select, had a garnet red colour, deeper than the Bellingham. There was an intense, uplifted fresh fruit berries, along with green pepper, vanilla, and rosehips bouquet. The taste was sweet to start and spicy to finish. We agreed that this is a decent wine but lacks dimension.

Our third wine was the Caliterra Arbolda from Chile. The wine began promising with a dark, intense purple red and very strong legs. The bouquet though was stinky, diesel, and oil. There was some peppery and wild herb notes to the bouquet, but the overall impression of the bouquet was not favorable. This wine also had a dirty, oily, diesel fumes taste, and a tannic finish.

Our fourth wine was the Peter Lehman Shiraz from the Barossa Valley. This wine has an intense purple red colour. It is soft, sweet and elegant, with vanilla, white chocolate notes. The taste had a sweet, soft entry, with some pepper, stewed fruit and finishing with some bitterness from the tannins in this young wine.

The fifth wine, the Stellenzicht Golden Triangle from South Africa, also had an intense dark purple/red appearance in the glass. The bouquet was intense, with coriander, cloves, and cherries. It has a complex gamey nose. The taste was of sweet, ripe fruit with some pepper and a tannic finish. This wine was described as having restrained elegance and solid structure.

The sixth wine, was the Fina Flichman Reserva from Argentina. It has a light, claret colour, fading at the rim of the glass. The bouquet was milky (from malolactic fermentation), with creamy vanilla notes. There was also some boiled fruit. After the upfront bouquet faded, there was some iodine scent also. Notably absent was "spice". The taste was dusty, dry back of the throat, in an older style. It did though have a solid tannic backbone. The regular Finca Flichman Shiraz is enjoyed by many at the SWWS, and there were high hopes that the Reserva was going to be even better, but did not live up to expectations.

The Fairview Cyril Back from South Africa was our seventh wine. It was inky black in colour and good legs. The bouquet was hard to define, quite closed, but one could say there was cracked white pepper, savoury, earthy tones and subtle oak. The taste was rich and earthy, very smooth and round, with dark fruit flavours and pepper. This is a very serious, complex wine and well structured.

The Landskroon Estate from South Africa was our eighth wine. It had a decent claret colour. The bouquet by some was stinky. It also had spicy, plum and prune aromas. The taste had a sweet entry with stewed prunes, coffee taste and a fading, peppery finish. It had a lighter mouth feel than the Cyril Back.

The last wine of the evening was the Hardys Tintara 1998 from Australia. There was a huge difference between this wine and the previous two South African wines we had just tasted. The appearance was deep, dark, almost black intensity. The bouquet had a huge intense nose of fruit, sweetness, mint, cloves and more. The taste was rich, intense with sweet and sour fruits. There was also chocolate and peppery spiciness. The taste was soft yet balanced. As Lance said, this wine is "A Keeper".

Tasting Selection
Our favourite Shiraz wines are:

1. 1998 Hardys Tintara 1998 from Australia
2. 2000 Stellenzicht Golden Triangle from South Africa

Hardy's Tintara is available in BC, but not the Stellenzicht Golden Triangle Shiraz. The Hardy's Tintara is about $26 a bottle.

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