Review: Tim Smith Reserve Shiraz 2018

June 2, 2020

It’s time to get serious. Serious, about Barossa Shiraz.

Typically we don’t drink much Barossa Shiraz in this house, purely because fighting through some of the oak and alcohol excesses isn’t much fun. I’d prefer to drink Grenache TBH and you can probably see that reading a few of my reviews.

But when it’s right? I’m totally here for the Shiraz hedonism. There’s just nothing like the mouthfilling glory of a deliciously rich Barossan red. Just like this Tim Smith Reserve Shiraz 2018.

Here, this Instagram post from Saturday says it all.

View this post on Instagram

Normally, Barossa Shiraz isn’t the droid I’m looking for. But this @timsmithbarossa Shiraz has a generosity to it that feels so right. It’s like seeing someone after 2 months of lockdown and picking up exactly where you left off. Or that feeling when you come back from Europe and suddenly you can drive on the right (left) side of the road again. My only quibble really is a little late warmth. Oh and it’s not cheap at $125/bottle. But you can buy 6 of these for a single bottle of current vintage Grange. I know what I’d be drinking…

A post shared by ozwinereview (@ozwinereview) on May 30, 2020 at 3:18am PDT

For mine, this is what that drinkers expect in a premium Barossa Shiraz. There’s a sense that when you shell out over $100 it has to feel premium. And the seamlessness, the generosity and the integration of flavour here feels, as a sensory experience, what proper premium reds are all about. That may seem like a given, but I’ve tasted plenty of wines with $100+ pricetags that don’t deliver the same enjoyment and intensity.

Best drinking: now to ten plus years. But ready now. 18.7/20, 95/100. 14.5%, $125. Would I buy it? I’m not likely to drop $125 on Barossa Shiraz all things given. But I still enjoyed drinking it.

2018, Barossa, Shiraz, Top 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 “Review: Tim Smith Reserve Shiraz 2018”

Mahmoud Ali

June 2, 2020 at 4:00 pm

Ambitious pricing or what? I’ve not heard of Tim Smith wines, so it will be month of Sundays before I ever think of dropping A$125 on a wine with a limited pedigree.

Reply
Tim Eckert

June 3, 2020 at 10:53 am

Mahmoud, are you saying that price only comes with a name and reputation?
How about the vineyard, the grapes, the oak, the love, the time, not to mention how it actually tastes, etc…. It’s not ambitious pricing, it’s realistic.
Get out there and broaden your horizons with some of the smaller producers that are doing some amazing things in the wine industry. Wines that are just as good if not better than those with a name you recognise, who are the ones often ripping off the public.
If $125 is too much to drop, try their entry level wines first – see the quality, the uniqueness, the passion. You”ll be amazed and soon hooked, and want to step up to their premium range – and you will never go back to those ‘other’ wines. 😉

Reply
boris farmer

June 3, 2020 at 8:35 pm

Tim, you are taking the piss out of Mahmoud surely. You can get a stunning shiraz from McLaren Vale for a fraction of the price of this one and your ignorance and diatribe shows thru. Sit back and re read your dribble when you suggest trying a wine under $125. I nearly pooeed my pants when I read this. Try the entry wines first you suggest ! .Who bent you over the table fella for you to say this absolute bulltish. You outta be ashamed of yourself for asking Mahmoud to suck it all in. I reckon you might have done the same pal !

You are a dreamer who has no damn idea.

Then again if you get your product for nothing it could be worth what it cost you but I give much more credit here.

Timmy boy, get the f^&&* out of here insulting Mahmoud like that you twat !

Reply
Andrew Graham

June 3, 2020 at 8:50 pm

Come on guys, let’s keep the personal attacks out of it and play the ball not the man.

Reply