There’s nothing more disheartening in the wine trade than a great masterclass with empty seats.

And on Wednesday this week, there I was in a grand room at Sydney’s Customs House, with a serious lineup of aged Shiraz poured in front of me, surrounded by glasses set up for guests that never arrived.

Rough.

Now I get why this tasting, which was part of the Clare Valley Wine & Grape Association’s Sydney winter red showcase, might not be on everyone’s must-do list. Wednesday mid-afternoon is an awkward time (most trade tastings happen at lunchtime on Monday or Tuesday when somms are available), and at this time of year, there are events on almost constantly (so you need to pick your battles). But that 2/3rds empty room, and the even emptier walk-around tasting alongside it, was tough.

What burns even more is the quiet part of the reason why no one was there – the Clare Valley isn’t fashionable. As much as wine people like you and me might love intense Clare Riesling, admire powerful Clare Shiraz and covet cerebral old Clare Cabernet, there’s a gaping hole between the slightly old school personality of Clare wines and what is considered cool.

I say this because during early winter I also wear my Australian Wine List of the Year judges hat and fill my nights staring at the best (and most fashionable) wine lists in the country. And I can tell that those lists often don’t have much space for much lightly minty Clare Valley Shiraz (outside of Wendouree for posterity).

Two of the wines in this aged Shiraz lineup showed exactly what everyone is missing.

Interestingly, legendary winemaker Phillip Laffer was one of the few souls in the masterclass, and after trying the wines, remarked how much better Shiraz is from the Clare Valley than the Barossa. That’s some big words for one of the original architects of Jacob’s Creek, but I won’t argue with it. It’s also a sentiment that must grate on Clare Valley winemakers who know they might have a better Shiraz product but just aren’t getting the love for it.

Of course, you could argue that Shiraz isn’t ‘cool’ right now either, Maybe, but to take a different angle, the Clare Valley makes reds that go beyond cool – they’re timeless. This lineup was only Shiraz too, which means we’re not even touching on Clare Valley Cab Malbec, the great sleeper of Australian red wine.

Anyway, I’m ranting now, let’s look at some wines: