Wine Review: Eagles’s Nest Shiraz 2006

A little while ago we were lucky enough to sample all the award winners from this years Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show. After being impressed by traditional stalwarts like Zonnebloem and Nederburg, it was a wine from a small, boutique producer that stole the limelight.

After taking one sip of the Eagles’ Nest Shiraz 2006, we were instantly convinced on why it walked away with the Trophy for the Best Red Wine on Show. After tasting 50 other wines the Eagles’ Nest Shiraz really stood out from the rest, seducing both the nose and the palate with relative ease. The grapes for this wonderful example of cool-climate Shiraz can be found on the extreme uppermost mountain slopes above the Constantia Valley. It is crammed full of remarkable dark berry fruit all underlined with the seductive white pepper and spicy characteristics one would expect from a top class Shiraz. Maturation in a combination of different types of barrels for 20 months ensures richly developed, but not overly-tight tannins ensuring a soft, approachable wine in its youth still guaranteed to seduce for many years to come.

This quality Shiraz accentuates the fact that the South African wine industry is far from being boring and predictable and in fact is alive with great buzz and excitement with world-class wines being released from all corners of the country.

The Eagles’ Nest Shiraz 2006 is without doubt one of the most exciting wines we have tasted so far this year and is only made in extremely small quantities.