Wine Tasting: 2006 Shotfire Shiraz

Name: Thorn-Clarke Shotfire
Variety: Shiraz
Region: Barossa Valley
Country: Australia
Year: 2006
Current Price: $15-$20

Winemaker's Review:
With a Barossa heritage of six generations, and years of carefully planned vineyard development, it's little wonder that Thorn-Clarke produces fine and true examples of the wines that have made this region world famous. When our ancestor James Goddard discovered gold in 1870 in the Barossa, so began a family dynasty intrigued by geology. A fine legacy reflected in the family's expertise in producing wines that characterise the individual terrior of our vineyards. Shotfire Ridge immortalises the shotfirer's hazardous job of setting and lighting the charges in the mines. As he cried 'fire's on!' to clear the site quickly, he would run for shelter behind the nearest ridge. This wine is another outstanding Barossa Shiraz. The bouquet has lifted fruit aromas, while the palate displays typical Barossa varietal Shiraz characters of chocolate and plum fruit. Expert use of oak has resulted in subtle vanillin flavours.
-David Clarke (Vigneron)

My Review:
First of all let me start off by saying how fortunate I am to have a boyfriend whose parent's are willing to share their wine collection with me. I probably wouldn't have tasted a wine of this caliber if it wasn't for them.     This wine was so dynamic! It was a very beautiful deep red. Upon the first sniff it had a great nose with dark cherries, plum, blackberries. It also had a woody, earthy smell. The woody smell wasn't overpowering though. Everything had a nice balance. On the first taste it was a little acidic and tannic. I let it breathe for about 20 minutes and the acidity and tannins weren't as noticeable. I can only imagine how great it would've tasted if it was allowed to breath for an hour or two.
I could taste the oak and earthiness of this wine first, then I got a bitter dark chocolate aspect mixed with the dark cherries and blackberries. Every sip of this wine was so different then the last. It was intriguing and probably the first time I've had a wine that was this complex. We had the wine with a dinner of lasagna and french bread, but I believe it would've been better suited with a nice steak. Overall, I wish I had a bottle of this wine all to myself to sip and mull over all night long!