Price: $11
Maker: Wolf Blass Wines, Australia
Variety: Shiraz
Packaging: Bottle, natural cork
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Wolf Blass Shiraz 2003 from South Eastern Australia comes in an elegant bottle with a gold-embossed label. The wine itself is elegant enough – it meets the nose with a leathery, spicy aroma. The flavor is intensely fruity, with a sharp, tangy character – the fruit has a plummy richness combined with black cherries. The finish is equally tangy. This is a wine that can hold its own with grilled beef or spicy ethnic food, or can be enjoyed on its own.
Oddly, we couldn’t find this wine described on the Wolf Blass website. We did find this tidbit, though:
Under the guidance of Chief Winemaker Chris Hatcher, the steady hand of veteran John Glaetzer and the contemporary influences of Wendy Stuckey, Caroline Dunn and Kirsten Glaetzer, the award total for Wolf Blass now stands at over 3,000 awards at international and Australian wine shows and includes an unprecedented fourth Jimmy Watson Trophy for the 1998 Black Label at the 1999 Royal Melbourne Wine Show.
This particular wine seems to be from the lower end of the Wolf Blass price spectrum, but it’s not a bad buy. It’s nice enough in appearance and flavor to be a nice wine gift if you are headed for a party and are looking for something in the bottom of the two-digit range.