1847 First Pick Shiraz 2020
- 95
- $480
- Drink by: 2024-2044
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A gorgeous decadence here and very much the wine for lovers of bold, forceful, blockbuster styles, chockful of generous fruit and richness. Those whose preferences run to elegant and subtle Pinot, for example, probably need to look elsewhere. But this full throttle, riches to more riches, style has many fans, and deservedly so. An opaque maroon, there are lashings of dense oak but high quality stuff with integration well underway. As well as the vanillin/nutmeg imparted by the oak, there are notes of mocha, chocolate, blackcurrants and licorice. Still very youthful, this is plush, luscious, and generous with excellent length and such silky tannins. A wine with surely ten to twenty years of providing pleasure ahead of it. The only complaint is that it is still a little too young, but time will quickly fix that. A touch of patience will see immense rewards.
Ken was born and bred in Brisbane, Queensland. He had a non-trendy, perfectly happy childhood, in a family convinced alcohol meant instant condemnation to Hades. But a break fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, and some good wine, started a serious obsession that eventually took over. It did not stop Ken being chastised later for drinking Pol champagne, disgusted he’d drink anything made by a Cambodian dictator. Now, Ken mostly writes on wine, champagne and spirits for various newspapers, magazines and books, but is perhaps best known for his work in The Courier Mail. He also has a little sideline writing on cigars, fishing, travel and food. When not writing, fly-fishing for trout in NZ or bonefish on the flats of Cuba, travelling or smoking cigars, he is no doubt following a variety of sporting teams – the occasionally glorious Queensland Reds rugby, the dysfunctional Washington Redskins, the dodgy Arsenal and especially revels in the world restored to its proper axis with the return of the Ashes to their rightful home.
