Available in 6 bottle cases. Orders must be in multiples of 6 e.g. 6 bottles, 12 bottles, 18 bottles, 24 bottles etc.
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Winery: Baileys of Glenrowan
Region: Glenrowan, VIC
Variety: Shiraz
Vintage: 2005
Your Wine Guy says:
When I tasted this wine with winemaker Paul Dahlenburg from Baileys in May 2011 I recall prior to tasting that I had read some reviews from Mr Halliday and some others that weren’t overly favourable (I have included their comments below) about Baileys flagship Shiraz from their more-than-century-old block planted in 1904. I find myself in healthy disagreement with them.
Maybe it was the (almost) extra year in bottle the 1904 Block had spent before I tasted it, maybe it was the fact that I was sitting next to the winemaker, or it could just be that I have a bit of a fondness for those reds that keep evolving in the glass over the hours you allow. At any rate I was really impressed. It also went damn well with the juicy steaks Paul and I ordered.
Rich, deep, dark red in colour. The nose is an impressive array in the aromas of ripe berry fruits, vanilla, liquorice, plums and spice followed by some very slight stewed fruit notes. The palate flavours are also rich and generous, complementing the ripeness on the nose. Spicy liquorice, red plums, and stewed fruits are remarkably concentrated and beautifully supported by fine grained firm tannins. An outstanding big red ... perfect with a big steak.
96 Points YWG Drink to 2017
Critics say:
“Strongly savoury, with spice, earth and leather nuances to the blackberry fruit, augmented by French oak; fine, lingering tannins to close.”
92 Points Drink to 2020 James Halliday Wine Companion 2011
“Missed its hundredth anniversary by that much. It’s the oldest block of vines on the Baileys estate but it’s rarely as good as the 1920s-planted block.
It’s developing nicely but there are some astringent characters on the finish that just hold it back. I said just. It tastes of game, salt, violets, blackberry and iodine – not necessarily in that order. It has good weight and texture, a nice sense of fruit perfume in the mouth, and a clean-enough exit. It just lacks spunk or vibrancy or something.”
91 Points Drink to 2016 Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front
Winery Information:
After the phylloxera plague decimated the Victorian wine industry in the late 1890’s the Bailey family replanted their vineyards with phylloxera-resistant rootstock, including their famed 1904 Block which continues to produce wine to this day.
Baileys of Glenrowan is a quality winery, steeped in history, specialising in fine red wines and luscious fortified wines like Muscat and Topaque (nee Tokay, see below). Established in 1870, Baileys has taken the best of the old vineyard winemaking techniques and combined these with modern winemaking skills to produce outstanding wines.
Baileys is a medium sized winery of 143 hectares under vine, all the grapes for the wines are grown in the vineyard and the winemaking is completed on site. Many traditional winemaking techniques are used at Baileys, including the restored 100 year-old Basket Press. The ‘hands–on’ effort required for the grape growing and winemaking is testament to the passion of the Baileys team.
James Halliday writes: “Just when it seemed that Baileys would remain one of the forgotten outposts of the Foster’s group, the reverse has occurred. Since 1998, Paul Dahlenburg has been in charge of Baileys and has overseen an expansion in the vineyard and the construction of a 2000-tonne winery. The cellar door has a heritage museum, winery-viewing deck, contemporary art gallery and landscaped grounds, preserving much of the heritage value. Baileys has also picked up the pace with its Muscat and Tokay, reintroducing the Winemaker’s Selection at the top of the tree, while continuing the larger-volume Founder series.”
Baileys of Glenrowan have long been specialist port and fortified producers (est. 1870) and with such a well established history and obvious understanding of the style. It was this knowledge and experience that brought Wine Australia knocking to consult with Paul Dahlenburg from Baileys (among others) when a trade agreement with the EU was to be reached that will phase out the use of the terms ‘Port’ and ‘Tokay’ from Australian wine labels as they are now protected designation of origin trademarks specific to the countries of Portugal (exclusive to the Douro Valley in the north) and Hungary (exclusive to Tokaji east of Budapest) respectively.
I asked Baileys of Glenrowan winemaker Paul Dahlenburg about the change of names from Tokay to Topaque and here is what he said:
“In 2007 an agreement between the EU and Australia was signed which meant for Australia to maintain access to the EU markets we must stop using terms such as Port and Tokay.
A major research project was launched to identify replacement names.
This new name needed to have no previous trademark and, importantly, it had to fit the wine style and consumer expectation.
Topaque was chosen and Baileys has now relabelled its Tokay to Topaque knowing that when the agreement was signed a 10 year phase out was granted.
We feel it's important we get behind the new name immediately and start promoting what is a beautiful wine now known as Topaque.”
Incidentally, Australia will now use the term ‘Tawny’ on labels in place of ‘Port’ such as ‘Fine Old Tawny’.
Baileys of Glenrowan wines available from Your Wine Guy:
1904 Block Shiraz 2005 96 YWG 92 JH
1920’s Block Shiraz 2009 95 YWG 94 JH
Baileys ND (Naturally Dried) 94 YWG
Rutherglen Durif 2009 93 YWG
Rutherglen Petite Sirah 2009 93 YWG
Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 93 YWG
Shiraz 2009 92 YWG 91 JH
Founders Topaque 94 YWG 94 JH
Founders Muscat 94 YWG 93 JH
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