TysonStelzer.com

Articles

At three years of age, the Grandstand is ready to perform. An appealingly medium-bodied Western Australian blend showcasing primary black plum and blueberry fruit, notes of black pepper and liquorice, supported by finely textured tannins.

read

2012 is a season that captured both refined definition and fruit ripeness, making for sensational value in this entry Clare riesling. Its bouquet is particularly fragrant, singing with lemon and lime blossom and granny smith apple definition. A gloriously fresh palate is particularly tightly focused, carrying Watervale’s signature chalky mineral texture. $17 at Jim’s Cellars […]

read

Even Balnaves baby blend carries its house style of structure and longevity. In the generous and appealing 2010 vintage, it captures impressive fruit definition, lifted fragrance and well-textured, firm, fine tannins. Merlot-dominant this year, it carries layers of crunchy mulberries, ripe blackcurrants and even notes of pepper. $18 at WineStar.

read

This is a sumptuous and succulent McLaren Vale shiraz that presents an enticing offering of immaculate black fruits. The bouquet sings of black plums, juicy blackberries and a lift of perfumed violets, throwing to a gorgeously fruit-focused palate that lingers long and supple, supported by soft, fine-grained tannins. It seems the days of Geoff Merrill’s […]

read

A miniscule production of just fifty cases mark a Wirra Wirra flagship of impressive black fruit profile, where plums and blackberries meet liquorice and dark chocolate. Poise and concentration unite as great intensity of black fruits linger long through a finish supported by very finely structured tannins.

read

There’s an alluring fruit focus to this tiny volume newcomer to Scarce Earth. Blackberry compote and mixed spice carry impressive fruit concentration through a long and finely structured palate. Seasoned oak lends structural support without interrupting fruit expression, which lingers supple and primary amid soft, fine tannins, making for an easy and early drinking style.

read

Here’s proof in a bottle that McLaren Vale need not lean on oak, ripeness or impact to make a profound statement. There’s real restraint here, in a tightly coiled black plum, blackberry and black cherry guise; its old French oak invisible in flavour, lending a lightly-gauged touch of support to finely poised tannins and bright […]

read

An exactingly honed Road Block, built around a chassis of intensely firm, finely structured tannins that gradually relinquish their grip to reveal honed black plum and black cherry fruit. This is a consummately structured and textural shiraz that balances fruit ripeness and oak impeccably to a sophisticated and long-ageing end.

read

If it were possible to bottle the essence of McLaren Vale shiraz I imagine it would taste much like this, a classic and immaculately poised wine that personifies the region’s black fruit spectrum of plums, liquorice and black olives. These are united with an impeccably textured platform of silky fine yet superbly supportive tannins. The […]

read

There is only one patch of dirt on earth that musters this exotic, lifted spice profile, a flamboyant personality that prevails in spite of the seasons. Sarsaparilla, star anise, cumin, even Indian curry float over a core of immaculate black fruits and cocoa. The palate texture is a ravishing delight, finely structured and mouth-fillingly embracing, […]

read