Flaxman Wines ‘The Stranger’ Shiraz Cabernet 2007

58% Shiraz/42% Cabernet. Shiraz from Gomersal matured in American oak for 15 months. Cabernet from Mocullta matured in French oak for 15 months. Open fermentation, pigeage, minimal pumping and extended time on lees. No fining or filtering – 170 dozen made.’

Sounds like cult wine doesnt it? After reading those notes, I expected a hugely extracted mega beast of a wine.

Happily this wine is a sexy female of a wine, crafted in a lovingly elegant style of real appeal. Simply put, its a pleasure to drink/taste/review wines like this – Passion in a bottle.

The colour is a rich red, tending purple. On the nose it has some coffee oak, blackberry and licoricey Barossan Shiraz. all still quite primary & freshly bottled. The best is yet to come. On the palate it is decidedly medium bodied and even gentle in its fruit delivery, cuddling up to you with some very pretty and quite soft fruit. Soft, sweet, berries mark the start, a richness of coffee and blackberry fruit spreads out from there on in. Tannins are integrated, the palate shows carefully balanced, barely perceptible oak and there is no alcohol heat.

It’s quite a light style (Could this be a result of the challenging vintage too?) that is more suited to drinking over cellaring, favouring finesse over intensity – there is a quite seductive softness here that is Barossan to the core.

A very drinkable, attractive and quite delicious wine of unquestionable appeal. 18.0

Photography by Caryn