Oz Shiraz Is Back In Town

4 with some 250 wines to sample.

The stand-up, walk-about tasting that takes place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Storyeum, 151 Cordova in Gastown, has become an important showcase for local agents and suppliers of Australian wine although the website touting it -- www.australianwineexperience.com (see Events) -- has precious little to say about which wineries are attending or which wines they are pouring.

I suppose when your B.C. market share is 20 per cent you can gloss over the details, but Australia would do well to remember that France once owned 50 per cent of the market and today that number is a mere 5.75 per cent.

Tickets for the Australian Wine Experience, $55 each (plus applicable service charges), are available through Ticketmaster at 604-280-4444 or online at www.ticketmaster.ca.

In deference to next week's event, I have culled through my Oz shiraz notes tasted since last year's event. In total, I tasted 81 new releases. Seven were corked or suffering from cork or cork taint; the rest garnered scores from 81 to 96 points out of 100. The majority sit in the 86 to 89 range and offered good value.

If there is any pattern from my notes it's that the 2004 Oz reds appear to be back on track after a so-so year in 2003. In terms of structure, softness is undoubtedly the key to what attracts consumers to Australian shiraz, along with its upfront peppery fruit characters.

Many have been featured in these pages over the last year but today we have managed to find six mostly new releases for you to check out if you can't make it to the show.

We begin with two surprises, one old and one new. The new surprise is The Little Penguin Shiraz 2004. The second vintage has come to the table with more oomph, or at least as much as you can expect for $13. Look for a soft, sweet, round, easy sipping wine with blackberry, licorice, mocha, mineral, blueberry flavours. Better than year one but it will cost you more.

The Long Flat Shiraz 2004, for the longest time the Tyrrell winery's, is now put together by the Cheviot Bridge group. Similar to the Little Penguin, this spicy, peppery, blueberry, rootsy scented red is soft, round, and supple on the palate. The flavours are a mix of sweet cherries, blueberry, licorice and coffee all for less than $13.

A very pleasant discovery this week is the Bridgewater Mill Three Districts Millstone Shiraz 2001. Produced by the well-respected Petaluma folks, the Millstone shiraz has an attractive black pepper and black cherry nose with a streak of vanilla, and is very smooth and stylish. Look for licorice, smoky game and black cherry flavours with light tannins. A stylish red at a very fair price that blends fruit from Adelaide Hills, Wrattonbully and Clare Valley.

Wayne & Myriam Keoghan are directors of the tiny Annvers Wines boutique in McLaren Vale. They work on a small scale, making single-source wines such as the Annvers Shiraz 2001. Typically McLaren, the flavours mix milk chocolate with ripe blackberry, blueberry fruit and smoky peppery undertones. It's round, sweet, long and concentrated with a delicious spicy finish. Well done.

Kaesler makes big wine but the Kaesler Stonehorse Shiraz 2003 from Barossa is a study in fruit, tannin and acidity that is all in balance. It's big and bold but the rich spicy, chocolate fruitcake never really steps over the line. You'll love the black cherry/blackberry fruit flavours, especially if you can pair them up with a piece of lamb and roast potatoes.

Big, serious, rich and intense describes the latest Jim Barry The McCrae Wood Shiraz 2002 from the cool-ish Clare Valley. The nose is bright and full of sweet, spicy plum fruit. On the palate, the wine offers similar notes of spicy cardamom and raspberry fruit with chocolate and just a hint of leather. Big plump, juicy and rich, this will need another three to five years to mature in bottle.

Oz Shiraz

The Little Penguin Shiraz 2004, South Eastern Australia
Price: $12.99
UPC: 012354010093
Score: 86/100
Remarks: Easy-sipping, uncomplicated red.

Long Flat Shiraz 2004, South Eastern Australia
Price: $12.99
UPC: 093452436008
Score: 85/100
Remarks: Friendly blueberry, licorice, coffee flavours and fair value.

Bridgewater Mill Three Districts Millstone Shiraz 2001, Australia
Price: $18.95
UPC: 098655971163
Score: 88/100
Remarks: Stylish shiraz at a very fair price.

Annvers Shiraz 2001, McLaren Vale, South Australia
Price: $39.95
UPC: 9330000000030
Score: 91/100
Remarks: Small-scale, single-source wine.

Kaesler Stonehorse Shiraz 2003, Barossa Valley, South Australia
Price: $39.95
UPC: 9329914000298
Score: 92/100
Remarks: Big bold, rich spicy, chocolate fruitcake flavours.

Jim Barry The McCrae Wood Shiraz 2002, Clare Valley, South Australia
Price: $47.00
UPC: 9314487217976
Score: 92/100
Remarks: Big plump, juicy and rich.