Hunter Valley, NSW Shiraz Wines

Mostly. The juice itself is clear, so you can make white wine outta Shiraz and some makers still do make 'em. These are pretty much just Rosés, minus the pink colour. Most Shiraz though, is sensibly fermented on skins, giving it its reddy black colour.

It depends. Cheaper stuff made from lower quality grapes is typically made so that it looks at its best when it is being sold. Makes sense, given that almost all wines are drunk on the day of purchase. That said, almost all of the wines we stock will improve with careful ageing for 3-5 years, many for 10+.

Yarp, Shiraz naturally tends to bold flavours and high tannins. Cheaper Shiraz, Shiraz made from high yielding vineyards and those from very cool climates can be relatively lighter.

Some winemakers will deliberately make a Shiraz which is more medium bodied and fragrant, like the Lienert Sieben Klon Barossa Valley Shiraz. This is still a powerful and complex wine, but not the massive smack in the face much Barossa Valley Shiraz can be. The Lienert Brothers Sieben Klon should be at its best at somewhere between 5 and 10 years of age.

The Stonehouse Neldner Shiraz off 80-year-old Barossa vines is a splendid example of a dense, chewy and massive Shiraz. A couple of wine writers have given it 97 points, with one comparing it to Penfolds Grange. It is delicious now, looks amazing after decanting and will likely improve in bottle for close to 20 years.

We've got a more expansive write up on Shiraz available here.

Shiraz and Merlot are both generally fermented dry. Want to know more about Merlot? We've got an article here.

Sangiovese (Chianti), Nebbiolo (Barolo and Barbaresco), Montepulciano, Primitivo, Aglianico, Barbera (d’alba and d’asti) , and Nero d’Avola are very widely planted.

Let's start with the similarities. Shiraz and Malbec are both generally boldly flavoured and well structured. Malbec has a reputation for being a little shorter, with its flavour falling away a bit on the end of your palate, where Shiraz has a rep for having excellent length.

Perhaps this is why Malbec is used so extensively as a blending variety, especially in Bordeaux. That said, Argentina makes a lot of superb straight Malbec, as does the Cahors region in France. Bleasdale, in the Langhorne Creek also make a stunning straight Malbec.

Shiraz appears much more often ‘by itself’ in bottle with the great wines of Hermitage making its reputation. In Australia, Penfolds Grange was the trailblazer but of course there are now hundreds of Australian ‘straight Shiraz’ selling for stratospheric prices.

Malbec flavours can include plum, blackberry, cherry, tobacco, white pepper, vanilla and cacao.

Shiraz flavours can include spice, black pepper, plums, chocolate, blackberry, blueberry, coffee, earth, leather, olives, herbs and cherry.

Shiraz and Malbec play nicely together... imagine your favourite Shiraz being pumped up with a hit of tobacco! Wendouree make a stunning example.