This wine, given to us a gift, falls into the class of wines I’d simply not buy in a store or restaurant. Wolf Blass to me is synonymous with LARGE producer and some of the wines are to be kind, plonkish! That said, the Gold Label seems to be well received by many reviewers and normal drinkers alike. This wine hails from Barossa, land of the Shiraz, and having visited the region just recently I can truly say I am much more of a fan now then I was some five years back. The dry hot climate, the vineyards, the love of wine showed through on our visit. Amazing harmony exudes from the valley where behemoth vintners mingle with small boutique style wineries. If you are ever looking for a wine vacation I highly recommend the Adelaide area which gives you access to Adelaide Hills (Chardonnays), Coonawarra (Cabernet Sauvignon), Clare Valley (Cab Sauv/Shiraz) and of course Barossa (I only listed the predominate grapes grown). While Wolf Blass may have flooded foreign countries with it’s famous ‘Yellow Label’ it has done some great things as a vintner and for Australian Wines. Marketing, quality and resilience have made this one of the world’s most recognizable vineyards and for that it deserves props. Anyways, enough blabber, on to the tasting!
We decided to decant this wine and give it some air as I figure this could cellar for at least 5 to 10 more just from the knowledge of Barossa reds. It is a good thing we did as it had considerable sediment and our filtration funnel caught some odds and ends. The ruby red colour led to a very good fruit nose with predominately strawberries making themselves known. A few swirls and initial sips brought the strawberry forward even more, that plus some vanilla and cherry licorice. What a great many Australian Shiraz bring to the table is high alcohol content and this one is no different ringing in at a hefty 15% though it does not adversely affect the wine. The balance and finish are both pleasant and overall this wine is quite a treat. I am not sure I’d lay it down much more as it truly is ready to drink now, and while a good wine I am afraid it may start to fade the longer it stays in the bottle. Like all Gold Label wines, this one has a twist top (which continues to grow on me). For mid to high twenties (link is for 2005 vintage, closest I could get sorry) this is well priced for the quality you will get and I have no issues recommending it.
The CWG Subjective rating is 89 out of 100.
Mrs CWG says
I would not be embarrassed showing up with this, it was very enjoyable.
