Majella Sparkling Shiraz 2023
- 93
- $40
- Drink by: 2026-2036
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Sparkling Shiraz from Coonawarra. Anyone feeling the holiday let-down as we slog through January can surely find a way to lift their spirits with a glass of this absolutely delicious sparkling red. The base wine is matured in used French oak hogsheads for five months, before the secondary fermentation takes place in bottle. It spends fourteen months on lees, before a dollop of liqueur, in this case Vintage Port, is added. Under crown seal. An explosion of colour, effervescence and flavour here. Inky vibrant maroon in colour, the nose gives us aromas of black fruits, aniseed, mocha, chocolate soy, smoked meats and beef stock. There is bright acidity here and while the wine does have sweetness, it is extremely well balanced, and it is not apparent to any great extent at all. A supple and intense texture with excellent length, it really is well balanced throughout. We see notes of vegemite emerge on the palate. A cracking Sparkling Shiraz, this will provide pleasure for at least a decade. Every chance the score will climb in the coming years.
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.
