The Spirit of the Great Southern Wine Region in a Glass
Behind every great wine there’s a story to be told. Whether it’s how the wine was made, where it came from, who helped produce it or for what particular purpose it was made.
Half the fun of being involved in the wine world is finding out these stories and sharing them over a glass or two of wine.
Recently I bumped into Kim Tyrer of Galafrey Wines who is also part of the Great Southern Wine Producers board and she introduced me to a very interesting and very special wine from Western Australia.
The Five Virtues project began in 2005 as a way to promote and celebrate the strengths of the Great Southern wine region from its size, to its diversity and to the people who make up this great Western Australian wine region.
I was happy to find out the focus of the project is Shiraz as I love my southern Shiraz. But don’t be fooled, it’s not your average Shiraz.
The 2013 which I tried (tasting note at the end of this post) is a blend of 5 different Shiraz’s from the five subregions; Albany, Denmark, Frankland River, Mount Barker, and Porongurup.
The winemakers involved in the 2013 project included:
- Denmark: James Kellie of Harewood Estate
- Porongurup: Rob Diletti of Castle Rock Estate
- Mount Barker: Cath Oates of Plantagenet and Janice McDonald of Howard Park
- Albany: Andries Mostert of Burch Family Wines
- Frankland River: Andrew Cherry of Alkoomi Wines and Kim Horton previously of Ferngrove Wines
The bottle is adorned with the 5 stars of the southern cross and I think one of the biggest things I love about this wine is that it brings together the talents throughout the region to show teamwork and a pure love for wine.
If you’re keen to get your lips around a glass of this exclusive Shiraz then I suggest getting in touch with the Great Southern Wine Producers Association here to put your order in. There are limited quantities of the 2013 available at $420 per case ($35 per bottle).
Plus who doesn’t love a bottle that will make you feel a sense of virtuousness.
Five Virtues 2013 Shiraz
On the eye it’s a vibrant scarlet red with flecks of magenta. The nose has a lovely warmth to it with baking spice, red liquorice and raspberries dominating for me. The palate is juicy and rounded with a crazy long finish that seems to warm up your entire body. Earthy flavours of tobacco, cranberries and slight nuances of vanillary oak tantalize the taste buds. A wonderful example of the top-notch quality coming out of the Great Southern wine region of Western Australia.