Warramunda Liv Zak Yarra Valley Syrah 2018
- 90
- $38
- Drink by: 2021 - 2027
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To syrah or not to syrah? That is the question. To choose to label your wine syrah over the more conventional and Australian-proud shiraz indicates a deliberate winemaking and marketing choice. To ridiculously simplify, it boils down to elegance (syrah) over boldness (shiraz). In the case of Warramunda’s Liv Zak Syrah 2018, we see a touch of both in the way it combines a fine line of nicely formed fruit with an over-arching savouriness.
What starts off on the nose as cranberry, pomegranate, vanilla pod and spice moves into a pretty handy and developed three-year-old on the palate. Mingling with the blackberry, cranberry and a gentle leafiness is on overlay of earth and leather. Tannins are pliable and part of a seamless mouthfeel. The enduring savouriness brings a point of difference to this vintage given the characters, from memory, were not as prominent in the 2019 vintage. The result is part syrah and part shiraz and totally agreeable to taste.
Jeni Port is one of Australia’s top wine communicators. Based in Melbourne, Jeni created the first wine column in the (then) Sun News-Pictorial before moving over to The Age and becoming that paper’s longest-serving wine writer. Over the years she has written for most Australian wine magazines and these days calls WinePilot home. She is also a Tasting Panel member on the Halliday Wine Companion. She was named Wine Communicator of the Year and Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2014 and in 2018 Legend of the Vine. She is a founding board member of Australian Women In Wine and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.
