Lindemans Shiraz

I like a nice glass of shiraz in the evenings, but finding one that I both like and can afford is not always easy. However, LINDEMANS Bin 50 Shiraz fits the bill perfectly (and it's fantastic with dark chocolate).

The grape:
Syrah, is a classic French grape used in the production of wine. The Syrah grape is known by the Australians as Shiraz (after the town of Shiraz where it supposedly originated).

The wine:
Bin 50 Shiraz 2007 is a full bodied, well balanced wine with plum and spice flavours. It is a medium wine - not overly sweet but certainly not a dry wine. This wine is a multi-region blend, but don't let that put you off, the fruit may be sourced from a range of wine growing regions but the blend is perfect. The wine is matured with American oak which makes it smell slightly like treacle.

Packaging:
The bottle is the usual dark green glass with a rather tasteful label. Screwcaps are used to 'guarantee freshness' the label informs us - I still prefer cork. The bottle contains 750ml. of wine.

Colour: Plum with crimson highlights.

Nose: Dark fruity aromas - mulberry, plum, spice, vanilla, dark chocolate.

Palate: A medium to full bodied wine tasting intensely of plum, dark chocolate, spices and vanilla.

Wine Analysis:
Alc/Vol: 13.5%

Food Matches: pasta, red meat dishes, dark chocolate or cheese.

Regional Source:
sourced from premium wine regions across south east Australia.

Health/ nutrition:
those who drink red wine in moderation have a decreased risk of heart disease. This is believed to be due to the polyphenols, including tannins in red grapes which seem to provide an antioxidant and antiviral action. This wine contains sulphites.

Calorie content:
175 ml glass = around 119 kCal. 0g fat. A 75cl bottle = 510 kCal.

* Dieters beware - with 7 calories per gram, the number of calories in alcohol is second only to fat (9 cals/g). The calories in alcohol are metabolized first by the body, ahead of burning fat - which is not desirable if on a weight loss diet.

In my experience, LINDEMANS produce complex, high quality wines at everyday prices (in this case around £7) and this Shiraz is one of their best. Don't buy 2005 as this seems to have been a bad year for all shiraz, but other than that it's well worth trying - look out for special offers in most of the large supermarkets.

For more information on LINDEMANS wines visit: www.lindemans.com

In conclusion, this is a lovely spicy plum and vanilla flavoured wine at an affordable price, I can't praise it highly enough. Dr. Linderman said, 'the one purpose of wine is to bring happiness ...' and it certainly seems to work for me.

Please don't forget to recycle your bottle.