Description
Willem Kurt Beechworth Shiraz shows an impressive depth of flavour, mineral, dark fruits, oak. Great length and intensity on the palate. Willem Kurt Beechworth Shiraz is just a baby, but given some air, you’ll love it. Willem Kurt Beechworth and Alpine Valley wines are understated and elegant, but they are also incredibly good quality and wines you need to drink.
Willem Kurt Beechworth Shiraz 2017 Wine Notes
The Wine Front, March 2020
Gary Walsh
94 points
“A graceful and effortless Shiraz. Mixed berries, a little cracked pepper and spice, gentle vanilla and floral perfume. It’s medium-bodied, fine and pleasingly ‘mineral’ in feel and taste, supple long grained tannin, and spicy, long and a little meaty to close. Beautifully made”
Daniel Balzer is a lovely man who has been making wine since 1998. By working at big and small companies, he found his feet and developed a timeless philosophy; start with healthy grapes from a great vineyard and don’t do anything mess it up. Having tried a few vintages of his Willem Kurt Beechworth and Alpine Valleys wine, I think he’s doing a stunning job, and the wine pricing is at a level that you’d be crazy to buy just one bottle. Which is great because they are too tasty to stop at only one bottle.
Beechworth
Beechworth’s fame comes on the back of the work and drive of Giaconda. The region of Beechworth has a lot to offer wine lovers. Including a diversity of styles. Rich Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, spicy Shiraz, and Cabernet all historically excel. But Nebbiolo is becoming a prominent grape for quality wine.
Shiraz/Syrah
A bit of a chameleon, Shiraz can change how it looks depending on the terroir and/or winemaker influence. The Syrah-based wines of Northern Rhone are dry and austere while the Shiraz of Barossa is opulent and fleshy. A variety that lends itself to long aging but can be drunk at any time of its evolution.
Australian Wine
The invasion of “Sunshine in a bottle” put Australian wine on the map. The fruity, easy-going, somewhat samey wines were endearing for a short time. Then the next big thing knocked them off their perch.
This forced producers to increase quality and emphasise the distinctive terroirs of Australia. Of which, there are many. And many more yet to be discovered.
Wine
Wine is the result you get from fermented grape juice. There is proof of wine production dating back 8000 years ago. Fashions, innovations and many other factors have influenced the way wine has evolved over the years.
The wine grape is special. It contains everything you need to make grape wine except for the yeast, which lives on the outside of the skins.
Human inputs can influence the final product, including the viticulture (growing) choices. And the winemaker can shape the wine to a point too.
The best wines of the world often refer to terroir. Terroir is a French term that refers to all the climatic, geological and topographical influences on a specific piece of land. And it is true that neighbouring vineyards, grown identically, can taste noticeably different.
Red Wine
Fun fact; most of the colour for wines comes from the skins. There are only a handful of grapes that have red juice. Alicante is the most well known of these grapes.
By macerating the juice on the skins, the wine gains tannins, and flavours. Certain compounds change the chemistry of the wine too.
Red wines tend to have higher alcohol. More tannin and more oak flavours compared to other styles of wine. But the thousands of grapes and terroirs they grow in influence this.
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