No:96 Knappstein Sparkling Shiraz

There are certain things that are very Australian; Vegemite, freakish animals and sparkling red wine. A little while ago I asked the Twitterverse if Australian sparkling red was pointless filth or Australian speciality and the answer was a healthy enthusiasm for red bubbles.

I have a few sparkling reds to try on my 100 Australian Sparkling wines and this is the first one I have reviewed so far. Apparently it's big over the festive season so I'm bang on the money reviewing it now!

Deep ruby with small fast moving bubbles and lots of fine beading on the rim the nose had as intense and spicy a nose as a still Shiraz. Dark chocolate, coffee, blackberry, pepper, star anise and black cherry all combining in a complex aroma. On the palate it is off-dry but with a refreshing acidity and the dark cherry, chocolate and spice flavours found on the nose all follow through with a hint of eucalyptus and star anise. 

Produced with fruit grown in the Chainsaw Vineyard of the Clare Valley the grapes are hand picked and after two weeks fermentation on skins the wine is transferred into oak barrels for ageing.  Not a traditional method but this has been made with some love and it shows. For my first foray into sparkling Shiraz, I'm kinda liking this, it's like hot Christmas. Weird but not necessarily wrong.