Firetail Estate Selection – Shiraz – SE Australia – 14%
Firetail - SE Australia
The smell of this one is of soft fruits, cherries and a hint of sweet raspberries, plus a bit of Cointreau in there too maybe? Fruity and fierce. It yields cloying sweet stickiness before I even tasted anything, yet it is at the same time deep and rich and very satisfying in the aroma department. I could get quite dizzy (and save tons of calories) not even drinking this – and still be quite happy tonight.
But here goes with the tasting.
Composed of unblended Shiraz at 14%, I am expecting some kick and, yes, it is certainly not a timid wine. I get redcurrant sharpness, followed by a sweet sensation of cherry, then the tannins hit quite severely drawing out moisture, followed lastly by a soft fruity liqueur taste which lasts a while. I feel like I’m breathing fire (tail?) out of my nose!
In appearance it is very inviting, a velvety deep purple-red, with good solid body, but the bottle somehow looks a little cheap (a minor point though).
Points: 8/10 for appearances, 9/10 for bouquet, then for taste I feel it should earn points for its teasing, it’s a wine that doesn’t exactly know what it wants to be. If being harsh I could say it’s both a bit too sweet and tannic, like cloying syrup which lingers too long and also dries out the tastebuds, yet it also is rather addictive. All round I think 21/30 for taste, not as multi-dimensional as some wines but holding up after a 4th glass! Total score 38/50.
Btw, the “Beautiful Firetail” is a small distinctive Australian bird.
I think this may be the wine producer website but it has no reference to shiraz variety which is odd. Also see this page for a reference on the Shiraz (Syrah) grape.
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