Collector Wines

 

At a Canberra region wine tasting event in Sydney recently I was introduced to Collector Wines and was fortunate enough to meet Collector Wine maker, Alex McKay. What I found fascinating about the Collector tasting table was that amongst a host of Canberra wineries all showing off a diverse range of whites and reds, Alex was there with two bottles, both Shiraz, and that they form his entire range!

 

Not only was I excited to find a wine maker whose entire efforts go into making two variants of a single variety but given it was Tim Kirk from Clonakilla who initially told me to check out Alex’s wines, I knew they where going to be good!

 

I tried the two wines at the tasting and they were both the clear standout wines to me for the entire night - so much so I had to have seconds! Alex was then kind enough to send me a bottle of each for a more realistic assessment, given that a 25ml sample in a tiny glass in no way represents what people drink from in their homes or at restaurants. It only gives you a hint of whether you’d enjoy the wine later on or not.

 

Firstly, the 2006 Marked Tree Red Shiraz, which retails for $26 at the Cellar Door. This wine has to be one of the smoothest drinking and enjoyable cold climate Shiraz’s I can remember! For this price if I was tasting this wine blind I’d swear it came from Barossa Valley as it really doesn’t have the hallmark taste of many cold climate red wines which, for my personal taste in Shiraz, is a big plus. It is very easy drinking and is highly recommended!

 

Now the 2007 Reserve Shiraz, which retails for $46 at the cellar door. No doubt that this is a very good wine, but it didn’t “wow” me in the way the Marked Tree Red did and that is largely due to the fact that its an extra $20 a bottle and is a more complex style that I am sure with 10 years of bottle age will become something to behold. Also I am advised that while it is made with the exact same grapes used in the famed Capital Wines Kyeema Reserve, Alex use’s a splash of Viognier to his version.

 

Collector Wines – Marked Tree Red and Reserve Shiraz
Price - $26 for Marked Tree Red and $46 for Reserve Shiraz, Available from the Collector Wines website
Region - Grapes grown in Canberra districts, ACT, Wine made in Collector, NSW.
Recommended? Absolutely! Buy a Marked Tree Red to drink now and buy a Reserve Shiraz for the cellar!