Howard Park Scotsdale Shiraz 2017

Make the most of this release of Scotsdale Shiraz because Howard Park is signalling that it may not be making the wine for much longer. The problem is increased demand from large wine companies for grower fruit.

Howard Park sources from Mount Barker and Frankland River regions in the Great Southern for this wine, and it would be a pity to see it finish. Where Leston is friendly, Scotsdale is structured and a little more fine-featured. It asks more of the drinker, the reward is a complex, balanced and long-living Shiraz.

The fruit quotient is dialled down a notch, the role of fine tannins and bright acidity dialled up, with the area in between flush in cinnamon and nutmeg spice, woodsmoke and toasty oak. Many critics refer to this wine’s noted elegance.  There’s poise, yes, but at this early stage Scotsdale is keeping to itself. The big reveal will be slow.