Print this Wine         1997 Craiglee Shiraz   SUNBURY                 January Release   Shiraz       Pat Carmody has consistently produced wonderful wines from his cool vineyard. His Shiraz has provided a benchmark for cool climate examples of the variety in Australia. He reaches new and slightly different heights with this awarding winning and highly acclaimed 1997 vintage. In a normal year Pat will be waiting and waiting before he gets the grapes to ripen, however this year the conditions were warmer, his yields lower than average, and he has been able to produce a wine with 14.5 degrees alcohol, which must be a record for Pat. This is immediately different just by looking at the wine. Very deep and dark ruby red into purple, with almost some black overtones. Very concentrated and very youthful. The nose sees an amazing blast of fruit flavors such as blueberry, mulberry and plums. The fruit is ripe and sweet, and never before has a Craiglee Shiraz been this expressive at such an early age. Underneath the fruit burst is some cloves and just a hint of pepper. All of these aromas carry onto the palate, although they are not as sweet as indicated by the fragrance. In addition to the fruit and spice there is also a tobacco character. The wine has wonderful chewy and thick texture which really suits the ripe and luscious flavors of the fruit. Again this is different for Craiglee Shiraz as it typically is much tighter and lean, particularly in youth. Without a doubt it is with the finish that really distinguishes this wine from previous vintages of Craiglee Shiraz. The tannins are very firm and mouth-puckering, much more obvious than normal vintages. This means that you can cellar the wine for a long time with confidence, as typically the wine reaches its peak at around 6-8 years of bottle age, this wine may even take a little more time in the cellar. Because the fruit is just that much riper than normal you can enjoy the wine whilst it is young and fresh. Select food that will highlight the spicy nature of the wine and compliment the sweet fruit. Stir fried Beef served with a hot Szechwan style sauce would be a good choice, as would Roast Beef coated in Mustard and accompanied by a rich red wine reduction sauce.

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