Wirra Wirra, Church Block 2009 McLaren Vale, Australia

This Wirra Wirra Church Block, a mixture of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot from McLaren Vale, is an Aussie red in the traditional, warm-climate sort of way.

On the nose, there are ripe, dark blue-black fruits with a hint of cedary spice, liquorice and leather; the palate is soft, inky and gently oaky with dark chocolate, more sweet, ripe dark berry fruit and balanced acidity; good, pleasant finish.

It has bronze medals from Decanter and IWC which feels about right - it is well-made and enjoyable, with lots of ripe crowd-pleasing fruit and good depth.

If you want to know what a good, comforting, indulgent, traditional Aussie red should be like, then start here; for me (being more of an Old-World sort of person), the only complaint is stylistic - there's so much sweet ripe fruit here that it is not really a food wine, more of a warming and indulgent autumnal quaffer.

However, it would match very well with roast lamb or hearty autumn stews.

£12.99 from Waitrose, Majestic, The Wine Society and The Co-op; provided for review.

Links

Wirra Wirra - http://www.wirrawirra.com/
Waitrose - http://www.waitrosewine.com/
The Wine Society - http://www.thewinesociety.com/
Majestic - http://www.majestic.co.uk/
The Co-op - http://www.co-operative.coop/food/food-and-drink/drink/Wine/