Wild & Wilder The Opportunist Langhorne Creek Shiraz 2021
- 91
- $22
- Drink by: 2022-2032
Share
Another fine red from an excellent vintage and an always reliable region. Twenty-five year old vines, picked to ensure freshness. Again, whole berries assist in retaining vibrancy and the wine spent 8 months in oak. Dark purple in colour, the nose offers notes of chocolate, handfuls of warm earth, spices, coffee grinds, mushrooms and dark fruits. The structure exhibits obvious concentration and power with good fruit intensity, ripeness and more chocolate notes emerging. Rather than the finesse of the Pugilist, this offers a more burly power. Finishing with decent length, this will drink well for a decade.
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.
