2006 SHIRAZ

JAMES HALLIDAY, AUSTRALIAN WINE COMPANION
2010 Edition

A little reduction on opening; quite a firm and rugged savoury wine, with roasted meat and raspberry fruit at the heart; grainy tannins and slightly unintegrated oak define the wine at this point in time; time will see it soften. Screwcap. Rating: 90. To: 2015.

PAUL IPPOLITO, 5 MINUTE WINE RUSH
7 November 2009

The following is a little snapshot on who Toolangi are and what Toolangi are about. Julie and Garry Hounsell are the owners of Toolangi Vineyards who are committed to making the finest wines possible through a philosophy that is to grow and source the best grapes from the Yarra Valley and put them in the hands of the best winemaker for the particular varietal. Their winemakers include Rick Kinzbrunner, Matt Harrop and Tom Carson. The Toolangi wines are principally made from estate-grown fruit which in turn produce wines with distinctive personalities, each showing a strong sense of place.

Now, the reason for this bit of promo from me is that they are firmly on my winery watch list. My next big thing, watch this space list. The sort of rant that I make ever so occasionally when I say to you wine folks out there – this is good folks, come with me folks, this is really good folks, not just this wine but the whole label and place and what these people are doing.

Anyway I like this Shiraz, I really like it. I like the way it looks, smells, how it feels gliding down my throat – yes this is seriously good Shiraz. Oh and yes whilst it has ripe fruit, plenty of it, unashamedly so but it is done in such a seamless soft and ever so drinkable manner, that it always a positive rather than a distraction. Note alcohol in check. The oak is sweetish, coconutty then suddenly cedary and playing an Oscar winning supporting role. The tannins are soft and seamless, long and luxuriant is the finish. It all comes together very nicely and drinks superbly. Tom Carson made this one. Seriously, everyone take a bow. Watch this space – these guys know what they are doing.

Food Match: Moroccan Chicken
Price: About $25
Alc: 14.0%
Drink: To 2014
Rating : 93-94- Excellent

CAMPBELL MATTINSON, www.winefront.com.au
18 July 2009

Shiraz is a relatively new inductee to the Toolangi wine range, but it looks to have real potential. It’s cool climate shiraz to its back teeth. It’s ripe, but twiggy and peppery and perhaps a touch bitter, with bright cherry-plummed flavour fleshing out the mid-palate. It drinks well and finishes sound – if a touch herbal. Lovely tannin structure – this could surprise as a mature wine.

Rated: 8+ Points
Alcohol: 14%
Closure: Screwcap
Drink: 2010-2014

CHRIS SHANAHAN, chrisshanahan.com
27 September 2009

Here’s a couple of contrasting and attractive cool-climate shirazes – one from South Australia; the other from Victoria. The Downer family’s Murdoch Hill, made by Brian Light and Michael Downer, is the more robust of the two – it’s rounder and a touch more alcoholic with juicy, savoury shiraz flavours and extra palate weight derived from oak maturation. Julie and Garry Hounsell’s wine, from the Yarra Valley’s Dixon Creek sub-region, shows an even cooler face of shiraz. The flavours are more at the pepper and spice end of the shiraz spectrum, with the taut, elegant structure that goes with that territory.