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Chateau Reynella

Pour

2004 Chateau Reynella Cellar No. One Reserve Shiraz

WITH SO MANY NEW PRODUCERS flowering among its ranks like buds on a vine, Australian viticulture is often regarded by the untutored consumer as a fledgling industry, a new frontier. While it is true that winemakers Down Under remain on the cutting edge of enology, the tradition of making wine goes back to the continent’s colonial era, when British settlers sought to emulate the great wines of France in this new terrain.

John Reynell, an immigrant farmer, was one such pioneer, having settled in 1838 in South Australia’s McLaren Vale region with ambitions to pursue a variety of agricultural enterprises. Inspired by the warm climate, hilly terrain and variegated soils, he planted vineyards and dug (allegedly with a pickaxe) a subterranean wine cellar into a hillside. This cellar, somewhat modified, is still used today at Chateau Reynella, now owned by the Hardy Wine Company, whose founder, Thomas Hardy, once worked for Reynell.

Enthusiasts of Australia’s Barossa region, located north of McLaren Vale, enjoy the power and ripeness of its Shiraz, which, more perhaps than any other region, has shaped American notions of how an Australian Shiraz should taste: intense, vibrant, lush with berry fruit and black pepper. The McLaren Vale style, however, tends to be somewhat more restrained——a function, according to Chateau Reynella winemaker Fiona Donald, of the coastal location.

“Because we’re so close to the ocean, we get wet winters, but the summers are dry, and we get cool temperatures at night,” says Donald. “This gives the wine great natural acidity.” Moreover, though the wines display pronounced ripeness, this characteristic does not overshadow their wonderful savory flavors and aromas, which are supported by firm but refined tannins and terrific balance.

Perhaps no wine in the Reynella portfolio captures the essence of the house’s style more perfectly than the Cellar No. One Reserve Shiraz ($65), inaugurated with the 2004 vintage. Named for John Reynell’s original 19th-century cavern, this small-production, single-vineyard wine was harvested by hand and basket-pressed——before maturing, after fermentation——for 20 months in French oak. The nose is smoky with the scent of mesquite, cocoa and fragrant rose; the palate is deep and layered, rather than overtly ripe, overlapping flavors of blackberry and boysenberry with dark chocolate and roasted coffee.

Chateau Reynella, cdwine.com.

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