Faber Vineyard Reserve Shiraz vertical tasting

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

Faber Vineyard produces three different Shiraz wines, all from Swan Valley fruit. The first Reserve Shiraz (the top of the tree) was produced in 2001and has been made in much the same way each year since.

On this occasion, we tasted an unbroken run from 2022 (current release) to 2011, with the bonus of the 2004 included. We were privileged to have John Griffith (owner/winemaker) join us to discuss the wines, the winemaking and answer a range of questions – a valiant effort given that jet lag was threatening!

As usual for my vertical tastings, we dined at Lulu’s Little Bistro, and Mark (chef) ensured that the dishes complemented the wines very well.

The wines were shown from youngest to oldest and were not decanted prior to the tasting. Comments were collected from the group and are not just my own.

As an opener, we tasted a white wine from Faber that proves that the humble Verdelho ages superbly in the Swan Valley

Faber Verdelho 2017: Medium yellow in colour and bright in l fruits like pineapple and passionfruit, . There’s lanolin, honeysuckle, lemon myrtle, peach and apricot on the nose, with a touch of honey. The palate shows tropical fruits like pineapple and passionfruit, with more honey and honeysuckle. Cleansing acid and a good length.

Then to the main business of the night:

Faber Reserve Shiraz 2022: Deep purple in colour. A complex and quite intense nose of blueberry, blackberry, dark plums, boysenberry, brambles, vanilla, licorice, and a touch of mocha and five spice. The palate shows more ripe dark fruits and licorice, with a touch of Christmas cake. Tannins are slippery, and there’s a velvety mouthfeel. Acid is quite juicy, and the wine finishes long. It was described as elegant and gentle – in comparison to other Reserves. For me, it is still a big powerful wine, though accessible now.

Faber Reserve Shiraz 2021: Deep purple in colour. Red and black plums on the nose, with aniseed, mocha, savoury oak, five spice and a hint of raspberry. There’s rich and ripe red and dark plums on the palate, with brandy / Christmas cake, chocolate, and some tasters noted black pepper. There’s soft silky tannins, and a glycerol texture. Good supporting acid and a very long finish. This is slightly bigger and fuller than the 2020, with which it shares some similarities.

Faber Reserve Shiraz 2020: Deep purple in colour. Savoury dusty oak, cloves, dark plums and blackberry on the nose, with marjoram, thyme, aniseed and a little raisin. The palate has ripe fresh dark and red fruits, with some Christmas cake /raisin. One taster noted orange peel. Fine grippy tannins, medium acid leading to a very long finish.

Faber Reserve Shiraz 2019: Deep purple / black. Christmas cake, raisin, red and dark plums, dried herbs, bacon fat and vanilla on the nose. The palate fruit is more in the red spectrum, with savoury oak, some textural thickness, chewy grippy tannins and a long finish.

Faber Reserve Shiraz 2018: Deep purple in colour. Big ripe fruits, chocolate, blueberry, savoury oak and baking spices on the nose. Lots of fruit sweetness on the palate, with dark fruits, raisin, mocha, and a touch of leather. Velvety texture, considerable palate weight and a very long finish.

Faber Reserve Shiraz 2017: From the ‘flood year’ in the Swan, with a large rainfall event in February. Deep purple in colour. This showed significant variance from the surrounding wines. The nose is earthy, with eucalypt, mocha, cedar, red berries and blueberry. There’s more earth on the palate, with blueberry and leather. The texture was described as ‘suede’ (in comparison to velvety or satin). Long finish but overall the wine was less intense than surrounding wines.

Faber Reserve Shiraz 2016: Deep purple in colour. Red and blackberries and plums on the nose, with mocha, dried herbs, cloves, leather and cedary oak. There’s bright red fruits on the palate, including raspberry, with chocolate, soft tannins, supporting acid and a velvety texture. Long finish.

Faber Reserve Shiraz 2015: Deep purple in colour. This was the wine that showed the greatest variance in style. Eucalypt, dill, red fruits, mocha, vanilla, and savoury oak on the smoky nose, and some tasters noted ‘Chesterfield lounge’. There’s more eucalypt /menthol and leather on the palate, with red berry flavours. There’s noticeable acid, grippy tannins leading to a long firm finish. A few of us considered that there was a touch of TCA on this one – a shame, as John considers this to be one of the better vintages.

Faber Reserve Shiraz 2014: Purple with red tinges. The nose included some charcuterie and tar alongside dark fruit, eucalypt. Smoke, vanilla and Italian herbs. The developed red fruits are in the background somewhat. The palate was described as ‘elegant’ and shows menthol, red plums and berries, and tar. Tannins are fine and integrated (but also described as ‘suede’), and there’s juicy acid, leading to a very long finish.

Faber Reserve Shiraz 2013: Lighter in colour than previous wines. A fragrant nose, with a touch of menthol, some leather, dark stewed plums, blueberry, vanilla and cigar box. The palate shows fruit sweetness, with red berries and blueberry. Acid is noticeably juicy, tannins are fully integrated and there’s a creamy mouthfeel. Long finish.

Faber Reserve Shiraz 2012: Black – the darkest wine of the tasting. Developed black and red fruits on the nose, with cloves, violets, eucalypt, dried vanilla pod and a touch of leather. On the palate, the fruits head into red fruit territory, with cranberry, plums, wine gums and Jersey caramel. Grippy drying tannins and juicy acid heading towards a long finish. This is a big powerful wine – described as having balls!

Faber Reserve Shiraz 2011: Purple. Dark and red stewed plums and berries, with cloves, leather and a touch of menthol. There’s juicy stewed red plums on the palate, with fully integrated tannins, prominent acid and a long finish. There’s considerable fruit sweetness and the wine has good structure. John described it as ’boofy’.

Faber Reserve Shiraz 2004: The oldest wine of the tasting by some years, but it showed as a much younger wine. Developed gentle stewed dark and red fruits, and chinotto. The palate shows plenty of bright red fruits, leather, coffee grounds and milk chocolate. Tannins are gentle, and there’s supporting acid. A very long and even finish shows a wine in perfect balance and has no sign of declining.

Wine of the tasting was the Faber Reserve Shiraz 2012, with the 2021, 2018, 2014 and 2004 also gaining enthusiastic support. Tasters noted how consistently well balanced the wines were.

My sincere thanks to John Griffith for joining us despite the jet lag, and for supplying some of the wines from his museum stock. As usual, Little Lulu’s did a fantastic job, and we will see them again very soon.

Cheers
Allan