Print this Wine         1998 Brokenwood "Mistress" Shiraz   LOWER HUNTER VALLEY                 January Release   Shiraz       This is a single vineyard Hunter Valley wine. Shiraz is the great red variety, in most of our grape growing regions and the greatest wines of the Hunter are certainly from Shiraz. The yields are exceedingly low, but in the dry years the fruit concentration is quite remarkable. This vineyard produces some of the best Shiraz fruit that is very distinctive in character. It is therefore bottled separately to retain its own "terroir". The appearance is ominous. Dark, deep, inky blue-black-crimson. There is virtually no drop off in color near the rim. What a bouquet. There is a mini explosion of fruit flavors leaping out of the glass. In with plenty of other flavors are the following. In no particular order blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, plums and cherries all are there in the mix. Playing a supporting role, but still very important to the overall flavor are some spicy notes with cardamom, nutmeg and vanilla. It is hard to know if the vanilla is part of the fruit characters or from some new oak barrels. I suspect both sources are responsible. The palate is even better than the bouquet. This is a super concentrated wine with a silky smooth texture across the mouth. Probably of all the fruits the blackberry and the plum flavors tend to make the greatest impression. The spice is still very evident as well as some earthy, mushroom like notes. All of these components seem to work together effortlessly. With so much interest in the bouquet and front of the palate it may be easy to forget the finish. You cannot forget the finish of this wine. The tannins are firm and integrated so that they do not have a bitter taste. They really form part of the wine which can only be achieved with very skillful, "hands on" winemaking. It would be too easy to simply extract as much tannin from the skins as possible because of the weight of fruit, but the result of this could be catastrophic. This wine will age for many years. Great Hunter Valley Shiraz will peak at somewhere between 10 and 15 years, and this wine sits comfortably in this category. The amount of fruit is so rich that the wine can be enjoyed now, but certainly the patient wine lover will enjoy waiting. Look towards soft creamy cheese with mild flavors in searching for a match for the wine. Also rare roast beef with a sweet reduction sauce would suit the wine.

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