Ulithorne Frux Frugis McLaren Vale Shiraz 2021
- 94
- $150
- Drink by: 2026-2041
Share
2021 was a great vintage in the McLaren Vale region and it is fabulous to still see wines from that year available. Every cellar should be well-stocked with these gems. The fruit came from a single vineyard in the famed Blewitt Springs sub-region, old bush vines. 40% whole bunches were included in the fermentation, and maturation was for a year in a mix of French and American oak hogsheads. At that stage, the team selected the best barrels, blended them, and gave the wine a further twelve months in oak. Under Diam. Deep maroon/blood red with a lighter crimson edge, the wine opens with plenty of toasty oak notes. Good integration, but it is definitely one for those who enjoy touch of oak. We also have notes of chocolate, dark berries, kirsch, plums, leather and earth. Seamless in structure, with bright and zesty acidity, the wine is of medium to good length, finishing with sleek tannins. A fifteen-year proposition.
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.
