Wolf Blass House of the Dragon Fire & Blood Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2021

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Fan of Game of Thrones? Looking forward to the prequel, House of the Dragon? This is the wine for you. Plenty of dragon fire is coming your way on screen, so a little – well, not quite so little – Aussie cabernet shiraz is going to go down well with all of the action. The temptation is to predict something commercial and safe from the HOD red, an all-rounder that won’t necessarily knock your socks off. Prepare to be surprised. Blass has a lot to prove with this collaboration with Warner Bros. and it shows in a quality, smartly delivered wine. Deepest purple-midnight blue in colour, it is sourced from five South Australian regions, including Wolf Blass’ favourite regions Barossa Valley and Langhorne Creek. The blend (52% cabernet sauvignon and 48% shiraz) also includes Wolf’s touch of American oak (while he is no longer involved in the winemaking, Wolf’s legacy lives on) together with French oak.

Quite a complex opening riff playing to wild berries, black cherry, briar, earth, bouquet garni, vanilla. Fills the mouth with concentrated flavour and a rich, rippling texture. Both grapes are evident in equal measure on the palate, the leafy, fineness of cabernet plays well against bold, upfront shiraz. And there’s spice to burn. Ripe tannins help seal both the immediate drinkability of this wine and its potential for further ageing before lasting long on the finish. A wine for dragons and winter warming. And remember, winter is coming . . . In store from June 22 and exclusive to Dan Murphys and BWS nationally.

House of the Dragon goes to air globally on August 22 on Foxtel and Binge in Australia.