Tasted January 2010

Peter Logan and his family own and run this winery located in the Central Ranges of New South Wales in Australia. At only 37, the man has accomplished things that many of us could only dream to do in a lifetime. Armed with a stunning portfolio of respected, award-winning wines, Peter Logan is helping to further establish Orange and Mudgee as some of Australia's best wine-producing regions. His goal: New World fruit combined with Old World structure and balance. His take on the Shiraz/Viognier blend, a favourite in Cote Rotie (as Kate will have told you) and now Australia as well, is a charming example of how Logan succeeds in his ambitions. It's simple mathematics - New World Fruit + Old World balance = a match made in heaven!

www.loganwines.com.au

Grapes: Shiraz (Syrah) and Viognier, though the exact proportions Peter seems keen not to reveal!

Region: The Shiraz comes from both Orange and Mudgee in New South Wales and the Viognier from Orange alone.

Winemaking: Fermented for 6 days, half of the wine was matured in 1st, 3rd and 4th French and Hungarian barrels for 10 months. The wine was lightly filtered before bottling.

ABV: 13.5%

Tasting Note
The wine is opaque, a dark purple but still youthfully reflective with pinky-violet shading at the rim. The nose is very expressive - very ripe, with lots of red berries, black fruit-compote and a floral lift from the Viognier - even a faint but pleasant perfume smell. It is similarly ripe on the palate with super-fine tannins. The Viognier really shines through making the wine lush and juicy. There's a hint of darker fruits and earth on the long, satisfying finish.

Cellaring
This one's not built for the long hall but it will definitely last a few years yet.

If you like this why not try… our go-to wine for this style, Niero Cote Rotie is the bee's knees. Langmeil's take on this cuvee is similar in price and a great wine to compare this with, but really we all know you should go crazy and splash out on Clonakilla's killer Shiraz/Viognier that has the Rhone shaking in its rustic boots!