2004 Viotollo

Winery Page

Some of my favorite wines are Shiraz grown in Australia from small growers. These little boutique places tend to have interesting flavour and not be shy about making thick unfiltered goodness for me to put in my belly.

The Viotollo went great with the beef that I was cooking. There was a slight tannin structure that you could taste, but this was balanced with a dark, jammy goodness that I love so much. Balancing these flavours is tricky, but the hot climate in Australia seems to make this kind of effect easier to produce.

This bottle tasted fantastic, so I can remember that 3 – 4 years is a great time to drink this stuff. It made a good addition to the meat pies that I was cooking too. I just wish that I had more of this great little wine.

2004 Redheads Viottolo Shiraz

Winery Page

It was time for the mid-week bedtime wine, and the Viottolo fit the bill nicely. Under $20, already 3 years old and ready to go right now. As I write this review I do my search for the winery page, and behold – RedHeads wine is the maker of the Viottolo. And they also make Pikkara! Funny how the search for Pikkara got me nothing but the sister wine made in the same place was found. I will update my Pikkara posts now to reflect this and maybe help this great little winery out.

My impression of the Viottolo is positive so far. The nose is just what I like in a wine like this – you can smell a bit of the limey flavour. It is a big jammy wine with the definite prescence of the tannins there as well. I don’t know if this was to put some balance in or not. Maybe a little bit more time is needed for this one to bring the balance back to the sugar side of the force.

Which isn’t to say that I dislike this wine. It is interesting, with a complexity that I don’t find in wines this cheap too often. As with the Pikkara, I will try to make sure that I get more of this stuff the next time around. It is great tasting stuff and very good value.

2004 Redheads Pikkara McLaren Vale Shiraz Redux

update – Winery Page

Well, it turns out I did not have the willpower that I thought I did when I drank the last bottle of this. My parents were in town and we all went down to Tosoni’s for some good ass food so I needed to bring something worthy.

I had fond memories of this wine being a big dark shiraz, which would go well with the standard Tosoni’s fare. It had only been five or six months since I last drank this stuff, but that extra time actually served it well. I think that it was smoother than the last time, and it still had all the positive attributes of before.

If I ever can find this again I will buy it, probably more next time. It does exist in the 2005 vintage, so I suppose that I will have to keep my eyes peeled for it.

Maybe if I pick away at the salt mines for a few more years then I can drink nothing but stuff of this quality and above. I probably could afford the cost now, but not the time to hunt down the variety of stuff that I want.

2004 Redheads Pikkara McLaren Vale Shiraz

update – Winery Page

After a big week at work I wanted to relax with some lamb in my belly, preferrably washed down with some shiraz. Off to the wine spreadsheet I go.

My self-generosity extended as far as letting myself open the 2004 Pikkara shiraz. I have had a couple of bottles of this sitting on the rack for a while now, and the price point and age were about right. The first big thing of note was that the cork looked very high in quality and extremely wet. This stuff was bottled exceptionally well. I don’t know why that stood out to me but it did.

The Pikkara was typically inky purple, with a slight peppery nature and a big, big taste. This bad boy was packing 15.5% alcohol, but it was just big enough to carry it without seeming overdone. It was strong enough with the terrior for you to smell it very easily (which I know some people hate but I love).

My only critisism is that it does not go down as easily as some other big wines do. It tastes and smells great, goes very well with lamb, and I really wanted that second glass when I finished the first. But this was not a super smooth affair like a Penfolds with a numbered label (707, Grange, Magill Estate). And you know what, I am OK with that. I enjoyed it.

The other bottle will get to soak in its own juices for a year or two. I reckon this stuff will be even better by then.