TN: Whicher Ridge 'Long Road' Shiraz 2017 (Frankland River)

[Waiters Friend]

G'day

Whicher Ridge is a small winery that I have been a fan of for some years now, and don't get to visit enough. Whicher Ridge is off the beaten track a little, and they live just outside the northern end of the Margaret River wine region. They have made wines from other regions as well, and their Shiraz is one of these, being from Frankland River. I bet their ute does more than average kilometres, hence the 'Long Road' moniker.

Decanted before service. Deep purple in colour. A rich and powerful nose with blue and black fruits, plenty of vanilla, cedar and spice, especially cloves and a little cinnamon. A little milk chocolate and coffee as well. It just gets more expressive with each sniff.

The palate is similarly powerful - it's (dark and red) fruit forward and has plenty of spice and a thick texture / mouthfeel (like molten dark chocolate). It's holding its acid well, and tannins are firm and drying with some grip. A long and satisfying finish.

At nine years old, this is looking very good indeed, and probably at its peak.

Cheers
Allan

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[Chuck]

Thanks for your many postings. Always interesting to read. I'm still learning about wines from this area (Great Southern in general) and am particularly impressed although from a limited number tastings so far. It's seems a coolish climate area but the shiraz seems (to me) to show more warmer climate profile than say Margaret River and quite approachable in youth.

[Waiters Friend]

Thanks for your many postings. Always interesting to read. I'm still learning about wines from this area (Great Southern in general) and am particularly impressed although from a limited number tastings so far. It's seems a coolish climate area but the shiraz seems (to me) to show more warmer climate profile than say Margaret River and quite approachable in youth.

G'day Chuck. Frankland River in the Great Southern is a special place for shiraz (and riesling, for that matter) andI prefer these to the Margaret River equivalents as a general rule. Quite a few producers from outside Frankland River source fruit from there (as Whicher Ridge does).

[Chuck]

Agree WF. Sounds like GS is a bit like Langhorne Creek. A number of wineries around SA source some of their fruit from LC to supplement local fruit. Wolf Blass is a biggy that's been doing it for years. Plantings grew dramatically in 90s onwards. Some wines proudly made from 100% LC now that it has developed a good reputation. There are a few local wineries - Lake Breeze and Bleasdale are 2 notables. Well worth a day trip from Adelaide and can be combined with a visit to McLaren Vale or Adelaide Hills. Nice drive too. The cooling breezes off the Murray River mouth lakes is a feature.