Pleasantly surprised by this Aussie red from Laithwaites. It’s made by their RedHeads studio winery in McLaren Vale, and winemaker Steve Grimley has cobbled together some Coonawarra Shiraz and some Rutherglen Durif. The combination works really well, and at a penny under a tenner, this is pretty good value for money. As with most Laithwaites wines, this is their own exclusive blend.
Both Barrels Shiraz Durif 2010 Coonawarra/Rutherglen, Australia
14.5% alcohol. Vibrant colour. Lovely fresh black cherry and blackberry nose with some subtle pepper and mint notes. The palate has lovely definition to the vivid blackberry fruit which is sweet but with a minty freshness. A very drinkable, fruit-driven style with no overt oakiness, and it’s quite delicious. 90/100 (£9.99 Laithwaites)
For me, your post encapsulates the nature of Laithwaites’ wines – random parcels of fruit that appear to have no other home, blended together in sometimes rather odd-sounding combinations, but which end up producing something quite satisfying (albeit often with a rather contrived name). I find their reds more consistent than the whites – the latter often appear to have been bottled in the UK.
As a Laithwaite’s winemaker in Australia, I feel compelled to reply to the above comment from Giles. 2 years ago Laithwaite’s put together a team of people in Australia who’s single objective is to ensure we have the very best portfolio of Australian and NZ wine in the world – we still have some way to go to achieve this, but the whole team is 100% dedicated to making this happen.
The team consists of young winemakers who are making wine from all over the country in a variety of guises, including some of Australia’s most innovative and highly prized, out of the RedHeads Studio. We have a dedicated buyer based in Australia who manages the day to day relationships with our long standing and valuable suppliers. The buying and winemaking model expressed above by Giles, does not accurately represent how Laithwaite’s operates, or our commitment to growing and making wine. Winemaking is (and has always been) part of the Laithwaite’s fabric, it’s a genuine reason to be a customer of ours and we are extremely proud of this.
Laithwaite’s priority is to deliver the best wine we possibly can to our customers, the commitment of our team extends far beyond the suggestion that we use ‘random parcels of fruit that appear to have no other home’.
One final point (I promise!) is to clarify that Laithwaite’s does not bottle any wine from Australia or NZ in the UK, it is all bottled here in McLaren Vale or with our suppliers at their wineries around Australia and New Zealand.
Giles (Jamie or anyone reading) we’d be happy to show you around if you are ever in the area.
Kind Regards, Steve Grimley – Winemaker RedHeads Studio.
excellent, the 2012 vintage was one of the best i have ever tasted, cheers and look forward to next vintage, best regards richard butler.