Schubert The Gosling Shiraz 2018

The goose theme is strong with this winery and presumably they have reason. To be honest, it sits a little awkwardly for someone who was scarred for life by a rampant goose when he was young – staying with some university friends in Melbourne, mid-winter, we’d arrived late at night and so it was sleeping bags on the lounge floor. Not knowing where the facilities were, as it was dawn, and no wanting to wake anyone, I ducked out to the garden, where I was attacked by an insane goose. Driven up, on top of a fence, freezing in nothing but my undies, I sat while the goose made so much noise that it woke not just the household but every house in the street. The story ends well as the goose became so aggressive it was relocated to a farm where it attacked a herd of cattle. Apparently, all that was left was a few feathers

I take great pleasure in ordering goose whenever a menu allows. But I digress. This is a single vineyard wine, under diam. From estate vineyards in the Marananga sub-region, the wine spends 18 months in older French oak to mature. Near black in colour, this is inky and tarry with notes of mocha, chocolate, blackberries, cloves and a hint of orange rind. Espresso, black olives and coffee beans emerge on the palate. Rich and extracted, generously structured, well balanced with very fine tannins. This has a good fifteen years ahead of it. A superb, big, bold Barossa Shiraz. Love it.