Wine Review: 2005 Schubert Estate Shiraz Goose-yard Block

Name: 2005 Schubert Estate Shiraz Goose-yard Block
Producer: Schubert Estate
Region: Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley, Roennfeldt Road
Classification: N/A
Type: Red Wine
Variety: Shiraz
Year/Vintage: 2005
Bottle Size: 750ml
Purchased: $29.99, PA Wine Store, May 2009
Date Logged: 07/05/2009
Pairing(s): Buffalo Chicken Salad
My Rating: 4 Stars

This is one of those wines that supposedly retails for around $60+ but somehow the PA Wine Store is able to sell it at half that price. Still expensive, but Wine Advocate gave it 95 points, so definitely worth a whirl.

BIG fruit here, and thick, velvety jam texture to boot. If you’re after a liqueur-like, mouth-coating fruit bomb, this wine is the ticket. It does also have a fair amount of complexity hiding behind the initial wave of fruit, with coffee, nutmeg, red licorice and some nice vanilla tones creeping in during the LONG finish (about a minute or more). Although the label says that it was aged 12-15 months in new and used French oak, the oak was very subtle in the finish, and the tannins were all but hidden behind the fruit.

We had this wine with Buffalo Chicken Salad, which was a bad match…the chicken was a little too spicy for this kind of wine. It was much better just drinking it by itself or with some chocolate cake I had afterwards. Although this wine is not something I’m looking for every day, I think it’s pretty well put together and deserves my rating of 4 stars. I also think a few more years in the bottle may do a lot to tame the fruit and bring some of the more complex tones to the forefront.