Wakefield Jaraman Chardonnay 2021 and Shiraz 2021 (Australia) - Wine Reviews

Tonight's wine reviews are a pair of lovely, consistently well-made wines from Australia that are arriving together this weekend in the June 24th LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection and will be widely available across Ontario by this Saturday.

These wines are produced by Wakefield Wines, an Australian winery situated in the Clare Valley wine region in South Australia that is known for producing premium wines and gained a reputation for its commitment to quality and craftsmanship. It was established in 1969 by Bill Taylor Sr., a renowned wine merchant who was inspired by the producers of Bordeaux and had a vision of crafting his own family estate wines that rival the best in world. The family found the perfect plot of land on July 20, 1969, by the Wakefield River in South Australia's Clare Valley and began their quest to establish a family estate. Just as Neil Armstrong took mankind's first steps on the moon on this day, Bill Taylor Sr. took his first steps on this land to create his family estate wines.

Today, Wakefield Wines is led by brothers Mitchell, Justin, and Clinton, the third generation of the Taylor family. Together, they carry on their grandfather's tradition and staying true to their core values of authenticity and craftsmanship. The Taylor family continues its dedication to crafting wines of exceptional quality, while also implementing sustainable viticultural practices and embracing innovative winemaking techniques. The Taylor family has successfully continued Bill Taylor Sr.'s vision as representatives of Wakefield Wines and the Clare Valley. Their love for winemaking, keen eye for detail, and commitment to excellence have made Wakefield Wines a renowned producer of top Australian wines.

Both of these wines are from their Jaraman range where Wakefield searches for parcels of extraordinary fruit from celebrated Australian wine regions that are renowned for a particular variety to craft wines that showcase their distinctive regional characteristics and style. The winemakers ensure that the distinct regional characteristics are preserved and enhanced, with the fruit acting as the star and any winemaking influence the supporting act. With skill and dedication, the winemakers at Wakefield maintain their philosophy of respecting the fruit.

From a near-perfect vintage, let's see how this 2021 Chardonnay and Shiraz wines from Australia are tasting tonight...

Tasting Notes:

WAKEFIELD JARAMAN CHARDONNAY 2021 - Adelaide Hills/Clare Valley, South Australia (#18921) (XD) - $24.95
Crafted with Chardonnay from Adelaide Hills (61%) and Clare Valley (39%) fruit, the free-run juice was fermented in French oak (60% new and the rest in a combination of 2 and 3 year old) barrels. It was aged for 8 months in French oak before both regional parcels were blended and prepared for bottling and enclosed by screw cap. The medium-high intensity nose is rich and fragrant with lovely stone fruit, apple, lemon citrus, pear, and buttery aromas accented with flinty mineral and vanilla oak spice notes. It's medium-full to full-bodied on the rich palate with lovely, ripe, lightly honeyed flavours of apple, lemon citrus, pear, and vanilla oak spice. Clean and well-balanced with fresh, juicy acidity, it's also nicely textured and lightly spicy on the mid-palate. Flinty mineral and vanilla notes linger on the long, very satisfying finish. Highly recommended buy! Score: 90 pts

WAKEFIELD JARAMAN SHIRAZ 2021 - Clare Valley/McLaren Vale, South Australia (#377036) (XD) - $24.95
This Shiraz is crafted with fruit from Clare Valley (54%) and McLaren Vale (46%) and matured for an average of 12 months in a mix of coopers' American oak hogsheads (30% 1 year old and 70% 2-3 year old) before being bottled by screw cap. Fragrant, perfumed, and highly aromatic, this has a lovely, spicy, dark fruited nose of ripe blackberry, dark currant, dark cherry, minty herb, and oak spice, with savoury undertones. On the ripe, medium-full bodied palate it is dry and spicy with blackberry, dark cherry, savoury wood spice, and pepper flavours backed by juicy, well-balanced acidity and smooth, supple, and gently grippy tannins. Dark fruited, spicy, peppery, and savoury earth notes linger on the long, balanced, and well-structured finish. Highly recommended buy! Score: 90 pts

Other lovely wines by Wakefield Wines can be found at the LCBO or through their Agent - Profile Wine Group.

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Wakefield Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 and Pinot Noir 2018 (Australia) - Wine Reviews

Tonight's wine reviews are a pair of delicious Australian red wines from the ever-reliable Wakefield Wines. Both arrived at the LCBO last month as part of the main feature on wines from Australia in the May 29 LCBO VINTAGES Release.

Wakefield Wines was founded in 1969 by Bill Taylor Sr. and his two sons, Bill and John, by the Wakefield River in South Australia's Clare Valley with a desire to create authentic, estate grown wines where the vineyards and winery both reside at the same location. The very first wines the Taylor family crafted were the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (reviewed below) and Shiraz, which are the heart and soul of the business. Wakefield Wines achieved overwhelming success over the years, expanding and growing their portfolio. Today, they also source fruit for their Estate Label wines from other wine regions mainly due to the fruit's higher quality, as is the case with the Pinot Noir that is reviewed below. Both of the wines reviewed in this post are from Wakefield's Estate Label range of wines.

A perennial visitor to LCBO VINTAGES, I last enjoyed the 2017 Wakefield Estate Cabernet Sauvignon back in August of last year. The 2018 vintage in Clare Valley can be characterized as warm and dry, and warmer than 2017. Thankfully, there were also no major heatwaves as these can be very damaging to the grapes. Overall, the team at Wakefield Wines was very excited about the quality of the wines from this vintage. With Cabernet Sauvignon in particular, the general consensus was that it may be one of the best vintages in quite a while with fantastic colour, flavour development and tannin structure.

The grapes for the Pinot Noir were sourced from Adelaide Hills, a vibrant, cool-climate wine region located in the Mount Lofty Ranges just east of the city of Adelaide in South Australia. Adelaide Hills is one of Australia's largest geographical wine regions, stretching north-south in a narrow band approximately 70 km in length, and bordered by Barossa Valley to the North and McLaren Vale and Langhorne Creek to the South. For reference, Clare Valley is located further north, just over 100 kilometres north of Adelaide Hills.

All Estate range wines, which includes these two wines, have an Optimum Drinking Temperature sensor on the back label that will tell you when each wine is ready to enjoy. This innovative sensor is calibrated to each varietal and wine. It is touch-activated and changes colour depending on the temperature of the wine. To use, simply touch the sensor and compare its colour to the chart located on the left. If the colour of the sensor falls between the optimum temperature indicated in the chart, then the wine is ready to drink. Let's see how these wines are tasting...

Tasting Notes:

WAKEFIELD ESTATE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2018 - Clare Valley, South Australia (#744235) (XD) - $19.95
Screw cap. The fragrant, lifted nose has aromas of minty-leafy, dark berry, currant, and cassis with savoury, earthy undertones rising out of the glass. It's medium-to-full bodied with minty, cassis, dark berry, blackberry, currant, and savoury oak flavours supported by fresh, balanced acidity and smooth, dusty-textured tannins that have a subtle grip. Nicely balanced throughout with savoury, earthy oak notes lingering on the finish, with very good length. Score: 89 pts

WAKEFIELD PINOT NOIR 2018 - Adelaide Hills, South Australia (#197392) (XD) - $19.95
Screw cap. The pretty, medium+ intensity nose offers sweet and ripe red cherry, red berry, and strawberry aromas flecked with tea leaf, earthy, and beet root notes. There's a kiss of sweetness on the ripe, light-to-mid weighted palate balanced with fresh, lively acidity and flavours of ripe red cherry, red berry, and sweet cinnamon spice with subtle wood notes. Light tannins are subtly textured, while sweet spice, vanilla, and cherry notes linger on the juicy finish, with very good length. Delicious New World Pinot! Score: 89 pts

Other fine wines from Wakefield Wines can be found at the LCBO, as well as through their Agent - Profile Wine Group. In some exciting news, Profile Wine Group also now offers Air Miles® Reward Miles with purchase.

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