RKS 2024 Wine:  Stunning Shiraz From Kangaroo Island

Posted byRobert K Stephen (CSW)Posted inWine, wine and travelTags:, , , , , , , ,

Just when I was thinking Australia was becoming a bit tiresome with the same wines from the same appellations my ears perked up and my eyes bulged, just a bit, when I saw a Springs Road Shiraz from Battle of Bosworth Wines on Kangaroo Island. I did a quick dig on Kangaroo Island finding out it is a thirty-minute flight from Adelaide. It is a bit of a nature paradise with 1/3 of its area dedicated to nature preserves. Spectacular coastal cliffs. Penguins! Varied accommodations and eateries. Why is it I have had no previous desire to visit Australia but have a sudden urge to visit and discover Kangaroo Island. It could be I lived there in a previous life? Or it could it be my childhood optometrist had Gafney as a surname the same as the location of the winery on Gafney Road. The spirits of my past beckon me to Kangaroo Island for a great cosmic experience and some great wine?

Will the wines of Kangaroo Island sing a siren song for me?

Aroma: Solid and dense notes of blackberry and almost too ripe raspberries with subtle vanilla notes.

Palate: A Salzburgian salt mine depth to the wine with a finish as long as the wooden slides one rockets down to get to the heart of the salt mines. The blackberry continues to hog the stage like an experienced Shakespearian actor and not like a K-Pop boy band. In other words a serious and dignified Shiraz not a bowl of jam. Just the perfect amount of residual sugar. Moderate tannins and no lurking nasty acid. Northern Rhone?

Personality: I am a hidden gem both in quality and geographic uniqueness. Consider me a welcome escape from Barossa and McLaren Vale. Imagine at your next party you bring a bottle of me! Kangaroo Island mate….bollocks!

Food Match: I would like to pair this with Kangaroo Island speciality dishes but as my calling has yet to materialize as the spirits are a bit slow on a Saturday night could it be a chance to say this would pair with a Kangaroo steak or some Kangaroo Island mutton?

Cellarbility: Drink by 2026-year end.

Price: $23 CDN as a manager discount otherwise $33 CDN.

RKS 2024 Wine Rating: 94/100. Jamessuckling.com 95.

(Springs Road 2017 Kangaroo Island Shiraz, Battle of Bosworth Wines, Willunga, South Australia, 750 mL,14.5%).

P.S. This wine only strengthens my cosmic connection to Kangaroo Island a location where I think wine tourism may reach perfection! I am damn certain this wine beckons me to Kangaroo Island!

Published by Robert K Stephen (CSW)

Robert K Stephen writes about food ,drink, travel, film, and lifestyle issues. He also has published serialized novels "Life at Megacorp", "Virus # 26, "Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog" and "The Penniless Pensioner" Robert was the first associate member of the Wine Writers’ Circle of Canada. He also holds a Mindfulness Certification from the University of Leiden and the University of Toronto. Be it Spanish cured meat, dried fruit, BBQ, or recycled bamboo place mats, Robert endeavours to escape the mundane, which is why he has established this publication. His motto is, "Have Story, Will Write."

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