Plantagenet Great Southern Shiraz 2013

Plantagenet is a leading winery in the Great Southern region of Western Australia and one of the area’s oldest, located in Mount Barker, an area known its temperate climate thanks to its proximity to the coast. The relatively cool conditions here help to ensure slow, even grape ripening which is essential for the fresh, juicy and clean style of wines produced by winemaker is John Durham who joined from Cape Mentelle in 2007.

The winery is owned by English migrant Tony Smith who headed Down Under encouraged by the Australian government’s offer to ship him and many others out in return for the princely sum of £10. In 1968, a stroke of serendipity led Tony to buy a farm, where he began planting vines. The original grape varieties he judiciously chose were shiraz, cabernet and Riesling and even the very first wines produced were tight and lean and showed the remarkable elegance for which Western Australia would later become known.

Plantagenent now has some 126 hectares of vineyards across five vineyards in and around Mount Barker. These lie on the region’s distinctive Marri soils named after the enormous Marri or Red Gum trees that grow here. These gravely soils benefit from good drainage over various bases which include clay, sandstone and ironstone rock.

The range includes attractive and smoky pinots, distinctively rich cabernet sauvignons, dark, peppery shiraz and crystal-clear, mineral, limey rieslings. The second label, Omrah, offers, we believe, particularly great value for money for members seeking the perfumed style of Western Australia at a non-premium price-tag. The Hazard Hill range, which includes fruit sourced from other select growers, is a good everyday source of unoaked whites including the semillon-sauvignon blanc which is bursting with crunchy fruit flavours.

Remarkable consistency has been maintained here alongside the exponential growth of the company. With the added expertise of winemaker who is still relatively new to the fold, Plantagenet’s future looks set to be an assured and confident one.