Winemaker Notes
The 2017 Great Western Sparkling Shiraz is a very dark red, with a rocky mousse that fills the glass that subsides to reveal a lace of fine persistent bubbles. Very pungent aromatics of cracked pepper, salted licorice, blackberries and potpourri. Secondary notes of toasted nuts, fermented meats, and pulverized rock from maturation in barrel and on lees in bottle. Vibrant and flesh forest fruits with a soft and creamy mouthfeel and a spicy floral finish.
Try it with roast turkey and all the trimmings or at a barbeque with family and friends.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Best’s makes one of the strongest examples of this uniquely Aussie style, which has been a part of Aussie wine since 1881. There’s a pleasant lift of sweet, plump plum and berry fruit, with gentler notes of chocolate and savory spice. The bubbles almost take you by surprise. They’re vigorous when first poured but quickly settle. There’s some fruit sweetness and alcohol warmth, with smudged charcoal tannins. Full bodied yet bubbly, this wine is made for wintertime holidays, but chill it down and you could also sip it with a summer barbecue
Made in a handful of wine regions across the globe, red sparkling wine ranges from delicately sweet to bone dry. While styles vary by region, red sparkling wine production methods are often the decision of the winemaker. For serving, cool red sparkling wine down to about 40F to 50F.
Nestled into the tip of its southeastern coastline, Victoria is Australia’s smallest mainland state, second most populous and third largest wine producer. Victoria includes the cool regions of Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and Geelong, made famous mainly by impressive Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The more inland Heathcote and Bendigo lead the way for complex and textured, full-bodied reds. Rutherglen’s fortified wines compete among the best on the planet.