The Aussie Red Blend

By Alex Russell on September 5, 2011 in Food

Think about the red wines you’ve tried that are made from a blend of a few different grapes. The obvious ones that come to mind are Cabernet Merlot and GSM (Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre/Mataro). The former is a traditional blend that comes out of Bordeaux while the latter is synonymous with the Rhone Valley, so both are traditional French blends.

You might not know this, but in Australia more than a few winemakers produce blends of Shiraz and Cabernet. And not many winemakers elsewhere do it, so we can pretty much claim this as the Australian blend. Some winemakers even add a bit of Merlot into the mix too, but let’s just stick with Shiraz and Cabernet for this article.

What do they taste like?

You get the rich spicy plum flavours of Shiraz along with the dark blueberry and blackcurrant flavours of Cabernet. Add in the fact that both of these grapes are known for their structure and you’re dealing with a seriously sensational wine.

Who makes it?

If you read this column regularly, you’ll have heard me talk about the Rusden ‘Ripper Creek’ Cabernet Shiraz (around $40), which turned out to be the best Father’s Day gift one of my customers had ever received. It’s one of my favourite wines from one of my favourite wineries, so grab it if you can.

Wirra Wirra’s ‘Scrubby Rise’ Red is a Shiraz Cabernet (with a little bit of Petit Verdot in there too) and is a steal at around $15.

But you can’t talk about Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz without talking about Yalumba. One of the most famous wines out of the Yalumba stable is the Signature (around $50). Made since 1962 (this year is the 50th vintage), it’s one of those wines you’ll find in most serious cellars and will age beautifully for a decade or two. In special years (e.g. 1998 and 2002) the best barrel of the Signature is bottled into a wine known simply as ‘The Reserve’ (around $100). It’s a personal favourite of mine and I always stash some away. A recent special occasion let me dig out a ‘98 from the cellar and it was utterly superb – velvety smooth but with a lovely rich flavour and incredible length.

If you don’t have the budget to try these wines, look out for the recently released Yalumba Scribbler (around $22), which you can think of as the entry-level version of the Signature. It runs out very quickly so if you see it, grab it. Finally, in special years they’ll also release one called the FDR1A (Fine Dry Red 1A – about $45) – another wine that routinely makes it into my cellar.

Many of you will think of cheap wine when I talk of Lindeman’s, but their top shelf trio – the Pyrus, St George and the Limestone Ridge – are all sought after. The last of these is also a Shiraz Cabernet.

If you really want to get an idea of what a blend of Cabernet and Shiraz can do, look no further than the revered Penfolds labels. They make Shiraz Cabernets under their Rawson’s Retreat and Koonunga Hill labels (around $10 and $15 respectively), but the famous Bin 389 is also a Cabernet Shiraz (price varies a lot, but expect to pay $60-70).

Finally, most people think of Grange as being made purely from Shiraz. In some years it is, but in many vintages there is a small amount of Cabernet added too.

So, they may not have the French lineage of the Cabernet Merlots and the GSMs, but the Shiraz Cabernets have a long history in some of the most famous Australian wineries. The good ones often age really well and will be among the best wines you’ve ever tasted.