Fifth-generation vignerons produce new flagship shiraz

 

For five generations now the Angove family has been making wines to suit all palates and all budgets.

The Angoves are a family that go about their business with a minimum of fuss, but with plenty of attention to detail. 

Now the family has unveiled a new flagship wine: the 2000 Brightlands Shiraz.

Angove Family Winemakers was founded in 1886 by Dr William Thomas Angove after his young family emigrated from Cornwall in England to Tea Tree Gully in the Adelaide foothills.

After establishing his medical practice, Dr Angove soon found himself experimenting with winemaking, at first using what he produced as tonics for his patients.

He quickly found a growing customer base, turning his hobby into a business and increasing his vineyard holdings from four to 40 hectares.

His son "Skipper" Angove 'Skipper' developed a small hobby enterprise to a multi-regional wine business producing a diverse range ofwines for both local and export markets.

Skipper was instrumental in establishing the first-ever winery and distillery in Renmark, in the Riverland, in 1910.

He crafted Angove Family Winemakers into a significant player, producing fine, still, and fortified wines and developing one of Australia's most iconic spirits St Agnes Brandy.

Now in its fifth generation of family leadership, Angove Family Winemakers is "dedicated to embracing evolutionary ideas, with a focus on maintaining relevancy and ensuring sustainability for future generations to come".

The new Brightlands Shiraz ($125) is a blend of the very best single barrel from McLaren Vale vineyards: Angels Rise at Clarendon and Warboys, just south of the township of McLaren Vale.

The family says that combined "they give rise to a remarkable intensity, depth, concentration and ageing potential".

"We are fortunate to be the custodians of two unique vineyards," says fifth generation vigneron Richard Angove. "They are amazing sites on their own but when blended take things to the next level."

Big and dense at first, the wine opens up in the glass to reveal layers of muscularity with fruit intensity and structure. It finishes satisfyingly smooth and impressively balanced. 

I liked it a lot. 

The name Brightlands Shiraz pays homage to the birthplace of Angove Family Winemakers - cellars originally constructed in 1875.

See www.angove.com.au