Tait Basket Pressed Old Vines Barossa Valley Shiraz 2016

Bold, beautiful, and nicely burnished, Tait has once again fashioned the quintessential Barossa Shiraz in their 2016 Tait Basket Pressed Old Vines Barossa Valley Shiraz (93 Points – Josh Raynolds). Sporting a deep impenetrable purple color and a complex set of aromatics, this full throttle Shiraz opens with notes of blackberry, plum, and dark chocolate along with hints of clove, violets, and exotic spices. Yet the real fireworks begin in the mouth when this young sleeping giant awakens, offering copious quantities of polished red and black fruits, cacao, fennel, and clove, all carried on a stream of fresh ripe tannins. Nicely textured and circumspect as to its potency, one would never imagine that Tait’s 2016 Basket Pressed Shiraz weighs in at 15.9% ABV. Enjoy this flavorful, big-boned beauty now and for years to come. For optimal enjoyment, we strongly suggest decanting this outstanding offering an hour before serving at cool room temperature (58°-64° F). Anticipated maturity: 2023-2032. Enjoy!

Tait’s decadent 2016 Basket Pressed Shiraz constitutes a meal in itself, but one would surely be remiss by not pairing this titan of a wine with a meal of equal stature. Some tried and true accompaniments include Pistachio Crusted Rack of Lamb served with a mushroom risotto, Herb and Black Olive Tapenade Encrusted Pork Tenderloin served with garlic mashed potatoes, and a superbly grilled Tomahawk Steak. Beef tenderloin with a Shiraz demi-glaze in the company of sweet potato mash and roasted root vegetables provides another fine pairing. Spicy chicken, beef, and three cheese and mushroom empanadas also provide tasty companionship. A highly charged ratatouille served with homemade pasta makes another superb accompaniment to Tait’s outstanding 2016 Basket Pressed Shiraz, but let’s not forget that game and other exotic meats such as ostrich are traditional pairings to Australia’s finest Shiraz wines, but as you like it. G’day, and happy eating and drinking, mates! Cheers!

Tait is truly a boutique winery in all respects. Located in the small town of Lyndoch at the southern end of South Australia’s Barossa Valley, the winery overlooks the spectacular Barossa Ranges and is owned and run by Michael and Bruno Tait and Bruno’s wife Michelle. They acquired the property in 1994 to continue the Tait family’s winemaking tradition. Although relatively new to winemaking, Michael and Bruno’s family have long been involved with wine. Giovanni Tait, the brothers’ father, was a master cooper who migrated from Italy to Australia in 1957 where he worked in Barossa, making and repairing oak casks for ageing wine. He learned his trade in Italy from his father and grandfather; together they share over 100 years of experience crafting oak casks. Nevertheless, Giovanni’s ultimate dream was to one day establish a family winery called Tait Wines, which came to fruition with sons Michael and Bruno.

Tait’s winemaking philosophy is quite simple: produce hand crafted, bold-flavored, full-throttle wines that exhibit intense flavors and aromas. They use only the highest quality Barossa and McLaren Vale fruit from low yielding vines, many of which are 50-80 years of age. All of Tait’s wines are made on site and are hand crafted using traditional winemaking methods including open fermentation, extended maceration, and basket pressing – all of which assure the finest quality and consistency as well as an impressive texture in the resulting wine.

Tait crafts several iconic wines, including The Ball Buster, a classic full-bodied Shiraz, Cabernet, Merlot blend that consistently garners 90+ points every year; The Wild Ride, a rich superbly made GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre) that ranks as one of Australia’s finest; The Border Crossing, a sumptuous Shiraz from across the Barossa border in neighboring McLaren Vale; and Tait’s most illustrious offering, the 2016 Tait Basket Pressed Old Vines Barossa Valley Shiraz (this month’s feature). Tait also bottles small amounts of a varietal Cabernet Sauvignon to round out its enviable portfolio.