The Barossa is the home of Shiraz in Australia, and is the place that has seen most of the country’s famous Shiraz come to life. A lot of truly spectacular wines have emerged from this region. However, more recently there has been one man who is doing his own thing, pushing for ever-more pure and balanced wines, Fraser McKinley.
In the past, Fraser worked with the Standish Wine Company and Torbreck Vintners, but in 2006 he embarked on a totally new project. He started a small winery that goes by the curious name of Sami-Odi, producing minuscule quantities of Syrah (he doesn’t say Shiraz!) of the highest order. He doesn’t just doesn’t make generic wines of the Barossa, but he carefully selects plots in some of the valley’s finest vineyards and vinifies them separately to create a cuvée, thus combining their strengths.
94 Points Mike Bennie
Dark fruited, inky and soft, maraschino and booze-soaked currants, fresh though, tannins high, a sense of concentration and depth. Gravelly grip comes through, some hazy paprika smoke notes in perfume and palate too. Fresh finish, more sweet currant and red liquorice notes, fennel, mushroom and this interesting weak brandy character. It’s beautiful, highly perfumed and hearty at once. A more intense, deeper release of this wine, but the sum of parts makes for very lovely stuff, indeed.
