Australian Shiraz $20 and Up

7 wines with great potential

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Australian Shiraz $20 and Up With these wines, we begin to get into what can only be termed the “serious end” of the spectrum. This happens to be the most difficult end of the market to sell, primarily because the lower end has done such a great job in capturing the beauty of Australian Shiraz that for many people, there is little to be gained by paying up.

The real standouts here are wines that are not showing their best today but have the potential to evolve into something really expressive of soil, grape and time. That’s the recipe for great wine of course, all great wines.

In the past, many of the high scoring Australian Shiraz turned out to be smoke and mirrors- high octane, high alcohol wines full of early promise and little else. There has been a real effort in Australia to dial back the wines over the past few years, to search for the balance and depth that they had built their reputation upon.

Check out these compelling and varied wines over $20 a bottle for more insight into the current state of Australian Shiraz.

Recommended Australian Shiraz $15 and under can be found here
Recommended Australian Shiraz $16 to $20 can be found here.

Photo courtesy crafterm via Flickr/CC

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Comments

501004
501004 LarryMarte-
ll59

501004 24

I really like the Langmeil Valley Floor Shiraz:

http://www.langmeilwinery.com.au/pr...

I've only had the `08, so I don't know how the `09 is.

It's usually around $30, but I just picked up a case of the `08 for $22.

Feb 14, 2012 at 2:34 PM
89065

89065 Gregory-
Dal Piaz

Hand of Snooth Voice of Snooth

89065 23,619

I really have liked the Langmeil wines I've had. Really love blend of restraint and ripeness, yielding complex, appealingly textured wines. Nice score on those 08s!

Feb 14, 2012 at 2:45 PM
1039008
1039008 VicAussie

1039008 2

Lovely to read a review on our Shiraz wines, and to see a nice spread of wines from one side of our very large country to the other. eg; the 2008 Heathcote, grown in a warm climate of Victoria to the 2009 Xavier from Western Australia, a mere 3,500kms away (or 2,190miles, give or take a few!) I wonder Greg if you have had the pleasure of sampling our very uniquely Australian Sparkling Shiraz? Here at Grampians Estate, located in the wine village of Great Western in the cool climate region of the Grampians we create our Sparkling Shiraz from vines planted in 1878, with fruit that displays sweetness (but not too much), intensity and weight. Made in the traditional methode with secondary bottle fermentation, even my occasional French visitors love it and are astounded to learn that we have been producing this style of wine since the late 1890's! If ever you are down under I would love to share an hour or two of your time showcasing our beautiful cool cimate shiraz. "Power with Elegance" being our catchcry. Cheers, Suellen

Feb 14, 2012 at 10:53 PM
89065

89065 Gregory-
Dal Piaz

Hand of Snooth Voice of Snooth

89065 23,619

Thanks for the offer Suellen!

Power with elegance sounds right up my alley!

I hope to take you up on it one day. As a lover of Lambrusco you might not be surprised to hear that I am also a fan of sparkling Shiraz, though I do not believe I've had the pleasure of coming across yours. They are fun wines, and work perfectly with some foods, personally I like them with BBQ and salty charcuterie.

Australia has such a great history as a wine region, and yet that's almost like a trade secret in many ways. Hopefully that will change soon!

Feb 15, 2012 at 7:45 AM