We recently did a vertical tasting of Chirping Bird‘s delightful Mornington Peninsula Shiraz. At release, Chirping Bird Shiraz almost always strikes such an inviting balance – offering enough heft and dark fruit to engage, but never overpowering or assertive. With that said, it was intriguing to discover how some of these wines have aged, with oak and dark fruit coming to the fore for an absolutely enchanting experience. It was a poignant reminder of how much a little aging can do for a wine (to the positive in this case, but aging is not the friend of every wine!) One of these wines has aged into the 95 point bracket! See our take below.
* Chirping Bird 2013 Shiraz – What a difference eight years make! Absolutely delicious. Age has moved this wine toward the darker side of the spectrum – light spice, hints of olive, oak & earth. This wine feels much more serious than it did four years ago. Incredible to see.
* Chirping Bird 2013 Reserve Shiraz (unlabeled, as it was never marketed due to its scarce supply) – Lifted cherry. Piercing purity. The power of the underlying fruit has not allowed this rich wine to be dragged down by time, oak, or any other force. A damn fine wine!
* Chirping Bird 2016 Shiraz – 95 points (drinking in 2021) – A stunningly balanced Shiraz, perfectly poised with bright red and dark fruit characters dancing lithely around the palate. This wine has become fuller and more complex in its years, with the exact right amount of oak just whispering its presence in the background. A seriously delicious wine – like 95 points of deliciousness.
* Chirping Bird 2018 Shiraz – By far the lightest wine in this range. Almost drinks like a mid-weight Pinot Noir with bright, light cherry the dominant feature. An interesting departure from the previous vintages. Will be interesting to revisit in a couple years!
* Chirping Bird 2019 Picnic Rosé – Although not Shiraz-based, we started the tasting with this wine, and I have to say, we love it. With its unusual dry muscat base, this wine carries some electric current with just a hint of bitters, but mostly posh. A unique rosé to be sure – if you find rosés boring as a class – this one may be what you’ve been missing!
Viva la Bird!
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