MCGUIGAN | Black Label | Shiraz | 2017
syrah

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Today we are going to review another single varietal syrah wine, but this time from the South Eastern Australia region – Black Label Shiraz 2017 by McGuigan Wines. In a world where bigger is better, syrah is the ideal choice, as it is darker, bolder and spicier than cabernet sauvignon and contains a high amounts of health-invigorating antioxidants. Syrah and Shiraz are the two names for the same variety: Syrah represents the old-world style of vinification while Shiraz is the name for the new-world style. Old-world syrah wines tend to have green tannins and more acidity, with earthy-herbaceous aromas, while the new-world shiraz wines are usually fruit-forward with ripe tannins and lots of spicy-smoky flavours. But enough theory! Without further ado – on to the wine tasting!
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

Visual
Pale garnet color with hazy copper shades towards the rim of the glass.

Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with ripe red fruits and savory flavours: redcurrant, red plum, overripe sour cherry, blackcurrant, black mulberry, leather, iron, red soil, black bread and some nuanced hints of paprika. An instant later the nose is filled with insistent notes of nutmeg, red pepper, cloves, anise, allspice, tobacco and some subtle hints of violets.

Gustatory
The wine is medium-dry, with high alcohol level, medium acidity and fine tannin. It feels rustic, round and slightly sweet, with a very opulent and fruity-plump profile. This is a quite lean, dusty and a bit seedy shiraz wine with a fair overall balance, where primary fruit aromas are clearly dominating over the oak-infused flavours. The wine is in dire need of more character and structure, as it feels too flabby and too smooth, with some nuanced bitterness on the mouthfeel.

Aftertaste
The wine has a medium finish and a pleasingly-sweet, lean and rustic aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fine wine of Australia and, with a total of 90.1 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Conclusion: overall this is a quite nice, new-world shiraz wine that is still on the rise, very close to its prime form, a wine that requires another year of bottle ageing, as in its current state the wine feels too sweet amd a bit off its balance. But make no mistake here – this is not a wine that will improve with age, it was not designed to be one, as this is a wine for today, not for tomorrow – rustic, plump and quite flabby, it definitely lacks character and structure on the palate. That said, for the best wine & food experience, we would recommend to pair this wine with barbequed meaty dishes that are rich in sweet accents, like for example a spicy t-bone steak with black pepper and smoked paprika. Cheers!

WineStatistics tasting results:

MCGUIGAN
Black Label | Shiraz | 2017

grape: | syrah |

region: Australia | South Eastern Australia

overall rating: | 90.1 |

maturity: on the rise

conclusion: fine | (highly recommended)

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© The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. Just remember that there are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.