Shiraz, McLaren Vale v. Barossa Valley
- Ricardo Llovet
- Nov 22
- 3 min read
Dear friends,
Chairman's Selection is at present carrying two South Australian Shiraz wines from the same winery and vintage but different appellations. The wine specialist at the Centre Ave, Pittsburgh PA store featured them in one of their tastings and I thought they presented a wonderful opportunity to identify the influence of terroir.
The following maps show the location of the appellations:
As we can see, McLaren Vale is a coastal area while Barossa Valley is around 60 km inland. In the map it looks really close to the coast but Australia is a large island. McLaren Vale is just above sea level and the Angels Share wine comes from elevations as low as 100 m. The Gnarly Dudes wine comes from Barossa Valley at elevations of 200-300 m. The following extract from Google Maps and pictures of the vineyards show the mountains and valleys from with these two areas:
See below their monthly rain and temperature profiles:
Although with similar climate (both are in South Australia and less than 100 km apart), Barossa is slightly hotter in the growing season and significantly cooler in the vegetative season, has less rain during the vegetative season and is less humid. The availability of underground water makes irrigation less frequent in McLaren Vale than in Barossa Valley. Barossa Valley also has (not reflected in the charts) a larger gradient of temperature between day and night, with cooler nights than McLaren Vale during the growing season. Long story short, our McLaren Vale wine comes from a coastal Mediterranean region while our Barossa Valley wine comes from a continental region. And this results in grapes in Barossa Valley with thicker skin and higher level of acidity at maturity than in McLaren Vale. Barossa Valley may have potential for wine with bolder structure while McLaren Vale's may be more delicate and possibly elegant.
And now let's taste them:
Two Hands Angels Share 2022, Shiraz, McLaren Vale
Medium to dark ruby color. Fruity: Dry blackberry, raspberry and blueberry. Peppery. Dry thyme and rosemary. Hints of dark sour cocoa powder. Abundant silky tannins in a medium body structure with sufficient acidity to provide balance. Medium to long length and depth aftertaste. 13.9% alcohol.
91 pts. WA, 90 pts. WS
Two Hands Gnarly Dudes 2022, Shiraz, Barossa Valley
Dark ruby color. Aromas of dry blackberry with dry red peppers, very pronounced black tea and Colombian coffee. Earthy and spicey. Chalky and velvety tannins. It has the right acidity providing balance to the full body tannic structure. Medium to long length and depth aftertaste. 13.8% alcohol.
92 pts. WA, 90 pts. WS
I had a very slight preference for the Barossa Valley wine but this was due more to personal taste than to differences in quality. Sally preferred the McLaren Vale.
And now, let me add a couple of curious facts about Barossa Valley.
The name Barossa comes from misspelling of the Battle of Barrosa in which the British colonel that gave the name to this valley had fought. This valley was populated with Prussian refugees from Silesia. They soon discovered that it was very suitable for grapevine cultivation and, given the grape ripeness they were obtaining in this warm continental area, they started with the production of fortified wines. Barossa Valley Shiraz only came into international prominence in the second half of the 20th century well after other Australian Cabernet Sauvignon oriented regions like Hunter Valley. Its extensive vineyards and the old vines have made it so attractive that some of the main wineries from the continent have set foot in it (Penfolds, Yalumba, Wolf Blass, etc.).
McLaren Vale started as a predominantly cereal area. Thomas Hardy pioneered grapevine planting in the mid 1800s and many consider him the father of the Australian wine industry. At the time of this post there was a Bec Hardy Cabernet Sauvignon available at some of the PA stores. Bec is a 6th generation descendant of Thomas and produces her wine in the Limestone Coast, south of MacLaren Vale.
And that's it for today. I hope you enjoy these two South Australian Shiraz and have the opportunity, as Sally and I, to enjoy them while comparing their different characteristics derived from their terroir.
Cheers from our two hands!
