Wolf Blass The Master Cabernet Shiraz 2018
- 97
- $350
- Drink by: 2026 - 2040
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The Master is a limited edition tribute to the founder of Wolf Blass, Wolfgang himself, to celebrate his 80th birthday. It does not appear every year and when it does, only in limited quantities. This release, from the superb 2018 vintage ($350), consists of only 28 barrels and comes in a very heavy bottle, gold embossed. Wolf would love it, inside and out.
The team under Chris Hatcher, with Steven Frost as winemaker, has gone with the classic Aussie blend, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, though this release sees 86% of the former. The wine comes from the Geier Vineyard in the Greenock sub-region of the Barossa Valley. It spent 15 months in French barriques, 32% new.
At this early stage of what promises to be a long life, the wine is taut and tense, dark fruits dominating. Seamless, there are notes of black cherries, black olives, old leather, tobacco leaf, spices, a hint of cocoa powder and even some mulberry. Fine balance, lovely silky tannins, supple texture, excellent length, the wine is true to its origins, the varieties and the maker. What more could you want? Cracking stuff. This is a special occasion wine.
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.
