Tasting the 2014 Jimmy Watson Winner: S.C Pannell Syrah 2013

November 20, 2014

Tasting the 2014 Jimmy Watson Winner: S.C Pannell Syrah 2013

While I’ve been critical of the inflated wine show score for this wine, what’s not up for debate is the synergy of style, wine quality and the original intention for the trophy. This is, quite simply, a delicious one year old red, perfect for serving as a young wine in a wine bar (such as Jimmy Watson’s). High fives Melbourne Wine Awards judges.

A bright purple red colour, there no disguising the purple lift of the 3% Viognier. A flash of apricot on the nose to give the Viognier away there too. Beyond the Viognier influence, its more classic warm year Adelaide Hills Shiraz, with redcurrant fruit, red berries and a little vanilla bean oak, dashed with spice for good measure.

What woos though is the palate, which is silken, spicy and gently berried all at once – it’s actually quite pretty, moderate without falling into overt sweet fruit, or any sort of imbalance at all. The tannins are a little light – definitely not a driving, extracted style – but the elegance and that late hit of berry juiciness makes this a really fine drink.

Arguably not for the long haul, but impeccably balanced, I’d drink this in a second. It really nails the medium bodied Hills Syrah style with aplomb and drinks beautifully already.

Another great wine (following the Pinot last year) to win a Jimmy Watson.

Source: Tasting
Tasted: Nov 2014
Drink: 2014-2020
Score: 18.5/20, 94/100
Would I drink it? Yes.

2013, Adelaide Hills, Syrah, Wine

Andrew Graham was once voted the 23rd most trusted wine critic on the planet. A WCA Journalism Young Gun now old hack with 25yrs as a buyer, judge, journalist, marketer and too much more.

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4 responses to “Tasting the 2014 Jimmy Watson Winner: S.C Pannell Syrah 2013”

Anonymous

November 22, 2014 at 6:23 am

Hi andrew,

Terrific review as usual. I thought maybe a little acid foward, you obviously did not.
Thanks for the comments on the influence of the viognier, it helps.
Nice touch "would i drink it" as opposed to "would i buy it".
Bought a six pack while i could

Colin r

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Anonymous

December 3, 2014 at 11:56 am

Your comment about the purple lift is interesting. Are you saying that the addition of the viognier turns the wine into something purple when it blends with the shiraz? I didn't know this but I have had may reds over the years and most of the purple hued ones were from w.a. Considering that viognier is the only white Rhone varietal allowed, could i deduce that many w.a. cabernets and shirazes with their purple hues have secretly, well not labelled anyway, had the viognier added? cheers, and thanks for the good reviews. Chris Janson, melbourne.

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1. ozwinereview
  
  December 3, 2014 at 11:44 pm
  
  Viognier is known to 'fix' colour in Shiraz and give it a colour enhancement. That enhancement comes from the contribution of the Viognier skin flavonols helping to produce a hyperchromic shift.
  
  I'd wager that plenty of Shiraz in WA has some Viognier added, though with additions of less than 15% it doesn't need to be indicated on the label.
  
  Conversely, many red wines are purple when they're very young (ie just after fermentation) and become less purple and more red over time (and with oxygenation via barrel ageing). There are some wines that are just purple full stop, like Hunter Shiraz which always looks purple. Some Cabernet juice can look almost blue when it first comes out, matching the blue/purple coloured grapes. It's less likely that their would be Viognier in a Cabernet blend though (but not unheard of).
  
  Reply
Nice wines I have drunk recently – Red or White – Page 530

April 24, 2016 at 2:59 pm

[…] 3, 2014 at 11:44 PM Reply Viognier is known to 'fix' colour in Shiraz and give it a colour enhancement. That enhancement […]

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