My favourite red wine right now is the Gumpr’s Block Shiraz from Richard Hamilton.
It’s the perfect blend of fruit and tannin.
I encountered it entirely by accident–I’m generally a fan of Aussie Shiraz, and whenever I see one from the McLaren Vale region that I’m not familiar with, I make a point of picking it up–for the obvious sentimental reason.
I saw this one on the shelf at one of our new private sector liquor stores, and picked it up, brought it home and stuck it on a shelf here. And there it sat until one night when we were entertaining. We started off with a bottle of some other Shiraz–something perfectly fine, and I opened the Hamilton as the second bottle. By comparison it damn near shone. I was enamoured instantly.
I went back to the store the next day to secure some more bottles, only to find that they had sold out. According to the proprietor he could never keep it in stock… “Whever we get any, the staff gets most of it before it ever goes on the shelf”. (I did eventually manage to get a couple of cases brought in for me later on, which I am slowly working my way through.)
Now, bear in mind that this is an Aussie Shiraz, so if you’re the sort of person who thinks that a very subtle Bordeaux is the apotheosis of wine, you are not going to be impressed by this, but to my tastes, this is one of the best wines on the market. (And it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than than subtle Bordeaux, too.)
