Thorn-Clarke Wines

Shotfire Shiraz 2017

Award
Winner Top 100 Medium Bodied Dry Red Wines
Grape Varieties
Shiraz (100%) Barossa
Country of Origin
Australia
Alcohol Content
14.5% Alcohol by Volume
Wine Type and Oak Treatment
Still Red with Oak Treatment
Recommended Retail Price
RRP AU $28.00
Buy This Wine

“Lifted and pure. Ripe fruit. Chocolate and some minty notes on the nose. Very sweet fruited. Lacks some fineness on the palate. Sweet fruited and ripe. Not a great synergy with the duck breast.”

“Charry oak, meat and confected blueberry fruit leather notes on the nose. The palate is dry with inky blue and purple fruits, meaty jerky savory flavours and sweet mocha oak. Fleshy fruit matches density of oak and chewy tannins on a moderate length palate. The wine becomes dominated by its tannins and oak profile with the addition of the dish drying out the wine and diminishing its sweet fruit profile.”

“Inviting nose with ripe blackberries, cassis, violets and cedar spice, a mouth-coating palate with rounded, ripe fruit, fine dry tannins and well-judged acidity adding freshness and length. A bolder style, done well however it is a little too much for the food pairing, which overemphasises the oak and sweet fruit, losing freshness.”

“Deep cherry-crimson. Chocolate, blackberry jam, liquorice and leather. Sweet dark-fruit flavours, soft acidity and ripe round tannins. With food: The punchy fruit characters of the Shiraz work very well with the richness of the dish.”

“Bright red, chocolate and red spice, plum and spice on the palate, soft and long gravelly tannins.”

“Magenta. Dark fruits and savoury, roasted nuts. Lashings of dark fruit and liquorice on the palate, with hints of charry oak. A fuller style, with slightly furry tannin. Tannins a bit overpowering.”

“Slightly skinny, stalky cherry fruit and toast, almost graphite like. SOP, almost sweet up front, donut and finishes with raspy drying tannins. Food: went well with the fruit sweetness, and lengthened palate persistence.”

The Medium Bodied Dry Red Wines were judged with

Duck breast, Parsnip Puree and Radicchio

Presented by chef Marcell Kustos

Ingredients

  • 1 Duck breast/person, sous-vide at 57C
  • 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 bag English breakfast tea
Parsnip puree, serves 4:
  • 500 g parsnip, roasted at 180C for 15 min and cooked in 300 mL soy milk (reserve 200 mL cooking soy milk)
  • 50 g peanut butter
  • Salt
  • ½ tsp garam masala
Radicchio, serves 4:
  • 1 radicchio, quartered, white (bitter) part removed, thinly sliced
  • 300 mL pomegranate juice + sous-vide duck broth, reduced to half
  • Add 1 Tbsp oyster sauce, ½ tsp Xanthan gum and mix with stick mixer
  • Cook radicchio in reduced pomegranate syrup until the radicchio is wilted
Served with chive oil:
  • 1 bunch of chive, thinly cut
  • 50 ml olive oil, warm in microwave 10 s

Method

  1. Score duck breast and render fat in a pan with skin-side down on low fire. Bag up the breast with maple syrup, oyster sauce and tea and sous-vide.
  2. Cut the parsnip into 2-3cm pieces and roast until golden brown. Transfer the parsnips into a pot and cook them soy in soy milk. In a food processor, mix all ingredients for the puree. The result should be creamy, slightly nutty, slightly spicy and slightly salty.
  3. Reduce the pomegranate juice with the cooking juices of the duck. Add xanthan and oyster sauce and blend it smooth (velvety) with a stick mixer. The result should be liquid, but thick enough to cover the back of a spoon. Add sliced radicchio and warm them until cooked/wilted.