1996 Three Rivers Shiraz

The 1996 Chris Ringland (formerly Three Rivers) Shiraz (now known as ‘Chris Ringland Shiraz’ due to a name dispute), has a very deep garnet-black color with intensely spicy aromas - plenty of vanilla, cinnamon and licorice – over a core of chocolate, kirsch, prunes and a whiff of dusty earth. Bacon fat and coffee notes emerge after a few minutes. Big, rich and buxom (15.3% alcohol) in the mouth with plenty of crisp acid and firm very fine tannins to support, it finishes long with layers of spice, dried plums and mocha. It’s still very youthful with many innings left. Drink it now to 2020+. Chris Ringland didn’t feel his 2005 Shiraz was ready to show to me in November 2010 and is focusing on selling his current releases, the 2003 and 2004 vintages. That it’s been a difficult year for high-end Barossa Shiraz is something of an understatement, but it seems to me that Ringland has adopted a good course of action. Taking matters into his own hands, he’s getting closer to his consumers by hand-selling his wines and spending time doing tastings and winemakers dinners in his markets. So while I don’t have a tasting note for the next vintage out of the box, I thought I’d contribute a couple of notes of older vintages. The 1996 Three Rivers Shiraz was tasted at the Landmark Tutorial in the Yarra in September 2010 while the 1997 Randall’s Hill was tasted during my meeting with Ringland in Singapore in November 2010.