Australian Shiraz is comparable to........

[craig loves shiraz]

Hi all.... I've recently removed myself from Australia nad relocated myself over to the middle east (What was I thinking??). In any case, the best selection of Australian shiraz around here seems to be a Wyndham estate bin 555 (Yuk!!), or a Jacobs creek reserve shiraz (Not too bad). The point is, not a great selection. What I am seeing is a lot of other wines from other countries and I'm hoping someone around here might know a bit about them!

So the question is;

Seeing as I love my big Barossa shiraz, what country/region from the following would be likely to reproduce that sort of style/taste?

France?
Chile?
South Africa?
Argentina?
California?
Spain?
Italy?

Cheers & thx.

[Gary W]

Not much really

France? - Southern Rhone - Chateauneufs, Languedoc Rousillion
South Africa - Not really but some riper Shiraz
California - Pinot (ha ha)
Spain - Ribera del Duero
Italy - Puglia, Sicily

GW

[Ian S]

Gary's comments are fair (except perhaps for the Pinot )

Especially though, it's a great opportunity for tasting more widely, whilst still acknowledging an interest in wines at the more robust end of the scale.

I'll also throw in
- Amarone from Veneto, Italy
- Douro red wines from Portugal, plus why not look out for vintage port
- Other Southern French (SW France / Provence) wines such as Bandol, Cahors, Madiran
- Californian Cabernet, Syrah, Zinfandel
- A few quality producers in Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria - the Platter's 'Africa Uncorked' book may be useful, though probably a little out of date now.
... and if you're in the middle-east, find time to fall in love with Chateau Musar - not that 'big' but has great character and complexity - one of my favourite wines and the price remains a bargain.

[Gary W]

The obvious one I forgot is Priorat (Spain) - not cheap but would be just the ticket.
GW

[Mahmoud Ali]

Craig, I fully sympathasize. I was in Australia for about a year and am now in Bangladesh. The most popular drink here among the locals is Scotch while the ex-pats prefer beer. And good luck getting the stuff as there is only one duty-paid store from where a foreign passport holder can buy from a very limited selection--like ONE BRAND of red and white wine by a NEVER HEARD FROM producer labeled "Product of France."

Okay, things aren't that bad for me as my partner and I have been able to get wines from people who have access to the duty-free warehouses for diplomats and foreigh aid workers. The Australian wines that I have seen, at parties and the ex-pat clubs, are Hardys Collection Cab-Merlot and Shiraz, Jacobs Creek Shiraz-Cab and Penfolds Rawson's Retreat. The Australian Club often has some Stonehaven wines. All are better than the Wyndhams 555 but perhaps not as good as the Jacobs Creek Reserve.

Now, to answer your question. My guess is that if the selection of Australian wines over there isn't good, it is likely that the selection of wines from other countries aren't so good either---like it is here in Dhaka, just the inexpensive wines from around the world.

If you like your shiraz then your best bet is to try the inexpensive Chilean and South African wines. Many of them are producing good fruity shiraz, some of the higher priced ones being excellent. I recall Graham Beck (South Africa) producing both a Shiraz and a single vineyard Syrah called "the Ridge". The latter was so good (at a Shiraz tastingI thought it better than the Peter Lehmann Eight Songs) I bought a few bottles for the cellar.

Also try Chilean Carmenere and Cabernet as well asSouth African Cabernet, they're pretty good too. Here in Dhaka I found the 2005 Sunrise Cabernet by Concha y Toro to be one of the better wines (about A$9 in the duty-free). If you try an inexpensive South African, especially a blend, you are likely to get pinotage (a South African hybrid of Pinot Noir and Carignan--or is it Grenache?) in the mix and that will explain the jammy burnt rubber notes. The KWV Shiraz should be okay.

Continuing along the "cheap wines in non-wine drinking countries' theme, you might try the varietal wines from southern France, Vin de Pay D'Oc, etc. They are usually inexpensive, a key consideration for importers in these "non-wine" markets. There are some large Italian producers making inexpensive wines from Apulia in the south (the heel). The ones closest to the “shiraz style” would be Primitivo, a close relation to the Zinfandel. There are plenty of inexpensive Primitivos many in the fruity, hgher alcohol, international style.

I don’t know which country you are in but, if you get a chance, try the Lebanese wines. Chateau Musar is a favourite among my wine crowd in Canada but a Shiraz purist may not like it. A few Lebanese wineries are playing around with Syrah, mostly in blends, but all of them are uniformly good. On a visit to Lebanon in 2005 I visited six wineries and found all their wines good to excellent and good value for the money. The individuality of Lebanese wines is highlighted by the high proportion of Mouvedre, Carignan and Grenache blended with Cabernet and, more recently, Syrah. The best syrah blended wine I had was Chateau Kefraya’s top end 1996 Le Comte de M. It was about A$40 at cellar door and it was excellent, worthy of cellaring for 10-15 years at least. If I remember correctly I scored it about 92-93. The “regular” bottling of Chateau Kefraya is also very good and I recommend it, I have bottles of the 1994 at home and it was drinking very well in 2004.

Good luck, I hope you find something worthwhile…………..Mahmoud.

[Matthew Moate]

I guess the question is where in the middle east are you? Perhaps I can give you some names of importers that you can directly contact. They do regular consolidations from Australia and if there is a market may be able to pick up a new wine or two.

[tpang]

My bet would be on Ridge from the USA, they've got several labels with the tenacity similar to barossan stuff.. or just look out for a high alc% Zin.

[craig loves shiraz]

Located in Dubai......

Thanks for all the tips thus far...

We have managed to try the Sunrise shiraz which we both like and we are using the Jacobs creek reserve as our saving grace at the moment. Even managed to locate an Oyster Bay Sav Blanc to placate the wife!

Anyone know of any other Sav Blancs in that NZ style??? i.e. SAf, France, Chile, etc.

[Wayno]

My bet would be on Ridge from the USA, they've got several labels with the tenacity similar to barossan stuff.. or just look out for a high alc% Zin.

I agree. We visited there last year and tried quite a lot of their wines and several evoked the Barossan style for me. Zins quite meaty and rich.

[craig loves shiraz]

Took some of the advice and can report the following....

Sunrise 2006 Shiraz - Chile.
Nice big flavoursome wine not unlike an Australian shiraz. Very big in the mouth with a bit of lingering pepper and spice. Nice little quaffer to remind you of home!

And I did get hold of a Californian Zinfandel. Not bad, but more comparable to a Merlot than a Shiraz but not unpleasant....

The quest continues....