1998 SEPPELT ST PETERES GREAT WESTERN SHIRAZ - HEY ST PETER!

Seppelt Great Western is one of Australia’s iconic wineries. It is the centre for most of Seppelt’s sparkling wine production, as well as Seppelt’s extensive range of Victorian wines. The St Peters vineyard sits immediately to the front of Seppelt’s Great Western winery, and is the source of one of the region’s great wines.

The 1998 Seppelt St Peters Shiraz was released to much acclaim. Fourteen years on from vintage, we are starting to see the reason why the wine was so heavily lauded. It is a typical Great Western Shiraz, with notes of pepper, hung meat and dark berry fruit. In the mouth, it is quite rich and plush, weightier than the wines of Best’s, based just down the road. The tannins have fully resolved, leaving a texture that is plush and welcoming.

This is a wine that showcases Great Western Shiraz, surely one of the world's great expressions of the Shiraz grape, to a tee. Enjoy it now and over the next several years. It’s hard to imagine a better food match than a Steak au Poivre.

1998 ST PETERS SHIRAZ
Producer: Seppelt
Variety: Syrah/Shiraz
Vintage: 1998
Region: Great Western, Victoria
ABV: 14.5%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: N/a
Date tasted: 2 November 2010

Tasting Note:
Bright plum red, fading slightly at the rim. Interesting, slightly evolved nose of hung meat, black pepper, iron, dark plum, floral lift – lavender? Dry, medium bodied, sweet fruited but savoury, peppery, plum, raspberry. Tannins have fully resolved, but there’s plenty of depth here. Very smooth and mellow. Finishes very long. There’s plenty of upside here for further secondary development.
Score: 18/20