Our blind tasting game—without the tasting! Can you identify a wine just by reading its tasting note? We post real Wine Spectator reviews. You use clues such as color, aromas, flavors and structure to figure out the grape, age and origin. Good luck!
Tasting Note: A compelling red on a juicy, fresh frame, with smooth, polished tannins and fresh pomegranate and maraschino cherry flavors at the core, showing details of milk chocolate, nutmeg and white peppercorn, plus an appealing hint of toasted herbs and fresh earth. Reveals tannins that firm up on the finish, which packs a spicy kick.
And the answer is...
Variety
Our compelling mystery wine is juicy with smooth tannins and rich red fruit, chocolate, herb, earth, spice and pepper notes. Let’s figure out what it is!
We can begin by eliminating Pinot Noir; our wine sounds a bit full-bodied for that grape, and it would be unusual for a Pinot Noir to show accents of chocolate or pepper.
While a Cinsault could show rich red fruit and herb notes, it would also generally have less body and lower levels of tannins than our wine. It has to go too.
Cabernet Francs can display our wine’s polished tannins and red fruit and herb details. Unfortunately, a Cabernet Franc would also be unlikely to show our wine’s peppercorn detail (though Cabernet Franc does often show a green bell pepper note) or chocolaty characteristics. Let’s move on!
Tannats often have dark fruit and spice notes, which sounds right. However, our wine is missing that grape’s incredibly high levels of gripping tannins. Maybe another grape works better?
When made in a riper style, a Syrah could show rich red fruit notes and polished tannins on a juicy frame, along with chocolate, pepper, spice, herb and earth notes. We have a winner!
This wine is a Syrah.
Country or Region of Origin
Syrah is an international grape variety that grows around the world, but you won’t find much of it in Germany. There are a few producers making Syrahs in Canada and Uruguay, but Syrah hasn’t achieved nearly as much prominence as other red varieties in either country. Meanwhile, France is likely where Syrah originates; here, winemakers offer versions that focus less on juicy textures and more on Syrah’s gripping tannins, minerally accents and savory notes like meat and leather. This contrasts with style from Australia (where Syrah is often known as Shiraz), which tend to be richer and juicier with ripe red fruit notes and spicy, chocolaty accents. Australian Syrah sounds the most on the mark.
This Syrah is from Australia.
Appellation
We know that our Syrah is from Australia, so we can eliminate Germany’s Ahr Valley, Uruguay’s Artigas, France’s Chinon and Canada’s Okanagan Valley. This leaves us with two Australian options: Barossa and Tasmania. The island of Tasmania is best-known for its Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs as well as sparkling wines. Meanwhile, on Australia’s southwest coast, Barossa is a region acclaimed for its rich and complex Syrahs. We have a clear choice.
This Syrah is from Barossa.
Age
Our Syrah’s fruit notes are rich, but they are still fresh rather than dried. This indicates our wine is likely on the younger side. But its spice and toasty notes may indicate some time spent aging in barrels. Bearing in mind that Australian winemakers often age their Syrahs in oak, let’s take a look at Barossa’s recent vintages to figure out this wine’s age.
Barossa experienced a wet winter in 2021, which increased yields significantly, and that year’s Syrahs are polished with rich red fruit flavors and chocolate, spice, herb and earth accents. Yields were low in 2020, but quality was high; 2020’s Syrahs tend to be dense and opulent with dark fruit, licorice, tea and floral notes. Conditions were hot and dry in 2019, leading to robust and concentrated Syrahs with fleshy dark fruit, spice and herb flavors. Of this group, 2021’s Syrahs sound the most like our own.
This Syrah is from the 2021 vintage, making it three years old.
Wine
This is the First Drop Shiraz Barossa Mother’s Milk 2021, which scored 92 points in the June 30, 2023, issue of Wine Spectator. It retails for $20, and 25,000 cases were made. It was also wine #38 of Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2023. For more on Australian wine, read senior editor MaryAnn Worobiec’s tasting report, "Benchmarks and Breakthroughs," in the Dec. 31, 2023, issue.
—Collin Dreizen, assistant managing editor
