2007 Three Brothers Reunited Shiraz

One Out Of The Hat!

At Nicks Wine Merchants / Vintage Direct, we endeavour to taste every wine that comes onto the market in order to select only the best products at any given price point. With over 20,000+ labels currently available in Australia as well as samples arriving from every corner of the globe, this is a monumental task and one that’s often joked about by customers as being a 'dream job.' In reality, judging around 3500 wines per year professionally, as opposed to simply tasting wines, requires discipline and concentration. What’s more, the evaluation system we use - the Winespider system – is transparent and fully accountable, making it very difficult to tell lies (visit www.winespider.com for more information). At Nicks Wine Merchants, all wines are initially reviewed and rated by Nick Chlebnikowski and the same day, the wines are sent to our buyers who then make a short list of the strongest samples. Finally the wines are circulated amongst the remaining members of staff. It is only due to this exhaustive screening process and unremitting search for quality that we can confidently make such bold statements as we have done in the case of the Three Brothers Reunited Shiraz: Quite simply, there is no other $10 wine on the market that matches the quality and flavour profile of this wine. The 2002 was the first vintage and was heralded as an instant success, finding comparison with early vintages of Penfold‘s Koonunga Hill, with subsequent vintages selling out in record time. Winemaker Ben Riggs, formerly of Wirra Wirra, is generally considered amongst Australia’s great Shiraz winemakers and despite consulting to several distinguished producers, including Penny’s Hill, Pertaringa, Geoff Hardy and Tatiarra, as well as making wine on his own behalf under the 'Mr.Riggs' label, he remains a very pleasant and pragmatic fellow. This attitude is clearly reflected in the Three Brothers Shiraz, which demonstrates his mastery of the variety at any price point. Just as important are the positive relationships Riggs continues to foster with growers throughout both the McLaren Vale region and South Australia. This means that even in difficult vintages when yields have been well down, Riggs is assured of a supply of quality fruit at reasonable prices even for ‘entry level’ wines. Remarkably, each new release of Three Brothers Shiraz has seen a step up in quality, with the 2006 expressing the best palate flavour profile to date - until now. The 2007 Three Brothers has just been released and represents extraordinary value for money offering Rigg’s trademark ‘joosy’ Shiraz style at a price that’s affordable for everyone. The rationale behind ‘over delivering’ is to maintain market share and customer loyalty while ensuring cash flow in a wavering economic environment. This attitude typifies Riggs‘ long term aspirations for all his brands.

'Since 2003, the three brothers shiraz has been our biggest Selling red. The reason is simple: we can confidently say that There is no other $10 wine on the market that consistently Matches the quality and flavour profile of this wine.”

It’s difficult to imagine how anyone could improve this wine without increasing the price. However, Riggs has done just that with almost every vintage, culminating in the 2007 which offers another dramatic quality leap. It’s little wonder that the Three Brothers Shiraz has become our biggest selling Red!

Tasting Note: Very deep black crimson colour with mauve hue. Top note of spice followed by vanilla, plum and blackberry with violet end notes. The palate is a huge surprise – big and joosy and packed with flavour – this is a trademark Riggs Shiraz with its powerful fruit filled palate and joosy texture characteristics. Ripe flavours of plum, blackberry and spice over a black pepper background. Excellent length and depth with fine grained, perfectly balanced tannins. Very long aftertaste of spice, blackberry, plum and vanilla. The perfect Red for the times.
Cellar 3-4 years (2012-2013)
Alc/Vol: 14.5%
Stelvin