Description
Cabernet Shiraz blends from Australia are now heralded as the “Great Australian Red Blend”
While the combination may be not immediately obvious to the French, the two varieties are quite well matched. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure and depth is ameliorated in this instance by the ripe, velvety addition of Shiraz. Cabernet Sauvignon is often said to be lacking in the mid-palate (the “doughnut effect”). Happily, Australian-grown Shiraz is famously good at providing juicy, jammy fruit flavors that fill out the wines, combining to create complex cuvees full of bright berry and dark fruit flavors.
There are no enshrined proportions, and so the wines can be Shiraz-predominant, Cabernet-predominant, or an even mix of the two. Oak maturation is often employed to add extra spice and complexity to the wines, as well as softening some of its harder edges. Which is true of these wines.
