When I got this wine the notion of putting Viognier into Shiraz was so foreign to Aussie Shiraz drinkers that they had to explain the process (and where it came from), to give it credibility, on the back label of the bottle. Today, we don't need the long-winded explanation of the Rhone and how they put a dollop of Viognier in to liven up the fruit flavours and smells of the wine. This one has a 5% dollop, and the back of the bottle instructs me that I should be drinking this by 2010 ... so I'm just catching it under the wire. The nose presented itself with pepper, dried red berries and alcohol - it seemed a little out of whack or out of balance and maybe a little too old. But not one to be daunted by smell I still took a sip. Turns out the smells fooled me, it smelled older then what I found on the palate: peppery, red berry, licorice, cherry and chocolate ... there was also some sweet dried plums - but not pruny, more like late harvested - to use a wine term. Delicious wine, and it paired well with the pulled-brisket soaked in BBQ sauce; the peppery of the wine matched with the smoky of the sauce.
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