The Black Chook Shiraz/Viognier 2019 (Australia) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine review is the latest vintage of this always popular Australian Shiraz (which includes a small amount of Viognier) that arrives at the LCBO next weekend as part of the April 3rd LCBO VINTAGES Release.

The Black Chook brand was founded with its first vintage in 2003 using premium fruit from winegrowing regions in South Australia. The Back Chook struts wines that are affordable, enjoyed and adored, shared and celebrated, and has enjoyed great success in Australia, Canada, and USA. With careful vineyard selection and an exceptional winemaking team, The Black Chook strives to have consistent varietal expression in their wines which are approachable and generous with character.

While seeking a name for this new line of wines, a black chicken - or Black Chook - stopped by and lingered around. They decided to immortalize that single Black Chook and today it can be seen scratching and pecking for grubs under the big old gum tree by the Cellar Door.

I last enjoyed the 2017 The Black Chook Shiraz/Viognier back in July 2019 and am curious to see how this vintage compares. For this vintage, the fruit was sourced solely from the premium grape growing region of McLaren Vale in South Australia. The wine region of McLaren Vale has a Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters, making it well-suited to growing high quality Shiraz grapes. Although the vintage was smaller than average, the quality of the fruit was good with concentrated berries and intense flavours. Let's see how this 2019 is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

THE BLACK CHOOK SHIRAZ/VIOGNIER 2019 - McLaren Vale, South Australia (#66738) (XD) - $18.95
Screw cap. This co-fermented blend of 96% Shiraz and 4% Viognier has fresh aromas of red berry, cherry, and floral aromas rising out of the glass. The ripe, full-bodied palate has a dark fruited profile of blueberry, cold cream, and peppery spice flavours along with touches of wood and floral. It has fresh, lemony acidity, while the tannins are sweet, ripe, rounded, and dusty textured. Woody, pepper, and dark berry notes linger on the finish, with good length. Highly quaffable and goes down easy. Score: 88 pts

Other delicious wines from The Black Chook can be ordered through their Agent - Dionysus Wines & Spirits Ltd.