Shiraz Watervale 2016 – Jim Barry Wines

It was Jim Barry’s drive that helped shape South Australia’s Clare Valley as a benchmark producer of world class Riesling and cemented it as one of Australia’s premier wine regions. Jim was the first qualified winemaker in the Clare Valley, graduating with a degree in oenology from the prestigious Roseworthy Agricultural College in 1947. Founded in 1959, Jim Barry Wines is still family owned, with three generations of Roseworthy graduates. Jim’s son Peter became managing director in 1985 and today Peter’s children Tom, Sam and Olivia are the winemaker, commercial manager and brand ambassador respectively. Voted ‘2020 Winery of the Year’ at the Halliday Wine Companion Awards they produce highly acclaimed and award-winning wines.

Shiraz

Shiraz and Syrah are the same grape. The difference between the two stems from regional expressions and climate-driven styles. Winemakers who work in cooler-climate growing regions, both in the Old World and New World, tend to call their wines Syrah. The most famous examples come from the northern Rhône Valley of France. In the New World, in regions like Sonoma Coast, California; Yarra Valley, Australia; and parts of Chile, the wines are called Syrah because they emulate the leaner, acid-driven, savory styles of the Old World French classics.
Shiraz tends to come from warmer growing climates, namely the South Australian regions of Barossa, McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills. Stylistically, these wines are lush, fruit-forward examples that embody the warmer, sunnier climate.
The wines are opaque, ruby-purple in hue, and offer concentrated jammy aromas and flavors of blueberry and blackberry, along with big, ripe tannins. Smokey notes along with black pepper spice, are also characteristic. Alcohol levels tend to be higher then “Syrah”, as are degrees of oak use and oak aging.