Water Wheel The Estate 2020

The 2020 Water Wheel The Estate (86% Shiraz, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon) pays tribute to the vagaries of the 2020 vintage. Mother Nature’s propensity for both withholding and providing has rendered the 2020 Water Wheel Estate a monolithic wine of great concentration, depth of flavor, and the ability to age for a decade or more. Brandishing a deep opaque purple color and offering lush hedonistic plum and berry flavors infused with explosive tannins, the 2020 Water Wheel The Estate is truly a big wine and a one of a kind. It explodes in the mouth and awakens the palate. To be sure, there is no wimp in this wine, which rings in at 15.9% alcohol by volume; nevertheless, the 2020 Water Wheel The Estate wears its ABV well. For optimal enjoyment we strongly suggest affording the 2020 Water Wheel The Estate at least 30 minutes of aeration before serving it at cool room temperature (58°-62° F). Buckle up and enjoy! Anticipated maturity: 2024-2030.

The bold, hedonistic 2020 Water Wheel The Estate constitutes a meal in itself. Yet, its robust flavors make it the ideal companion to hearty, equally bold-flavored dishes. Herb and Black Olive Tapenade Encrusted Pork Tenderloin served with garlic mashed potatoes offers tasty companionship. Add a highly charged ratatouille served with homemade pasta to double the pleasure. Shepherd’s Pie makes another splendid accompaniment. Thin slices of beef with a Shiraz demi-glaze on a bed of sweet potato mash in the company of roasted root vegetables gains high marks, too. A juicy, seriously large hamburger topped with black pepper aioli and onion confit provides another tasty treat to pair with Water Wheel’s 2020 The Estate Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon blend. A spicy andouille sausage pizza with broccoli rabe and fior de latte offers another delicious accompaniment. Good day, and good eating, mates!

Who can resist pairing the world’s finest cheeses with Water Wheel’s flavor-packed The Estate. Not us! A host of cheeses from around the world, including Double Gloucester, Iberico, Manchego, Reblochon, Stilton, and of course Italy’s inimitable Gorgonzola and aged Parmegiano Reggiano make wonderful accompaniments to Water Wheel’s The Estate, especially when served after a splendid meal. For more expert pairings or to procure the finest gourmet cheeses, join us at www.cheesemonthclub.com and enjoy all the best in wine, cheese, and life!

Water Wheel Vineyards is the brainchild of Peter Cumming, whose family has been in Bridgewater-on-Loddon in the Bendigo area of central Victoria for generations as growers of prized cherries and tomatoes. Although now a university town and farming community, Bendigo arose during the gold rush that hit Australia in the 1850s, much like Sutter’s Mill and the mining towns of California, where the rush to find the shiny metal propelled Americans westward and shaped a nation. The fruit grown in the Bendigo region has long been prized for its massive concentration, robust flavors, and naturally high acid levels, the ideal characteristics of the finest fruits, including grapes. Add a large diurnal temperature swing, especially around harvest time, of over 50 degrees F each day along with Water Wheel estate’s limestone-rich soil, and voila – the ideal terroir for the cultivation of red grapes. With this knowledge Peter Cumming embarked on transforming his family’s fruit farm to vineyards decades ago. The result is big robust wines – no, really, really BIG wines that age beautifully! Peter has picked the very best parcels of fruit for this month’s feature, the limited release 2020 Water Wheel The Estate, a massive, hedonistic blend of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Each year, Mother Nature deals farmers and grape growers a unique hand. The 2020 vintage throughout Victoria and much of South Australia was no exception. Late frosts decimated the flowering in Bendigo, resulting in tiny yields of less than one ton per acre. However, cooler than average temperatures throughout the growing season with occasional rain provided relief from drought, leading to long hang times and perfectly ripe fruit. The 2020 Water Wheel The Estate is the happy beneficiary of Mother Nature’s fickle finger.

Whether we refer to this great varietal as Syrah or Shiraz, we are talking about the same illustrious grape. Syrah has been grown for centuries in the Rhône Valley of France, where it is responsible in all or in part for many of the greatest red wines of France (Hermitage, Côte-Rôtie, and Châteauneuf-du-Pape to name a few). Until recently, there had been much debate as to the true origin of the full-flavored Syrah/Shiraz varietal. Once thought to have originated around the Persian city of Shiraz, whose wines were much admired by connoisseurs and conquerors, including Alexander the Great, scientific evidence now cites southern France as Syrah’s birthplace, the scion of two indigenous varietals. However, one point that everyone seems to agree upon is that the name Shiraz, from the Persian city of that name, is the origin of the moniker Shiraz for the Syrah varietal.

Syrah flourishes today not only in the south of France but in other Mediterranean climates, most especially in Australia where it reigns as the Land Down Under’s signature grape variety under the Shiraz moniker. It fares equally well in California and South Africa, where it yields rich, full-bodied red wines of distinction. Syrah/Shiraz ranks among the greatest red grape varietals in the world, standing with Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, and Tempranillo as the non plus ultra among the planet’s red grape varietals.