Eight at the Gate Sparkling Shiraz NV

Written By Campbell Mattinson
Bottle of Eight at the Gate Sparkling Shiraz NV

Eight at the Gate Sparkling Shiraz NV
$35, 13.5%, DIAM cork, Wrattonbully.

This wine is built on sweet, ripe fruit flavour but a peppermint character – which almost slides into choc-mint territory – adds real lift and life. Talk about drinkable. It’s soft, fruit-driven, has enough spread to the flavour profile to keep you engaged, and finishes dry. Along the way you find cardamon, plum and pink marshmallow flavours but really, who’s counting. This (sparkling red) wine has drinkability written all over it. 91 points.

Campbell Mattinson

This article was written by Campbell Mattinson, former chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion book, former editor of Halliday magazine, former editor of Australian Sommelier Magazine and founder of the highly respected The Winefront site.

Mattinson has been an independent wine critic and photo-journalist since 1987. He’s the only Australian to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once. He’s a past winner of a Louis Roederer International Wine Media Award; is the author of the award-winning book The Wine Hunter; and is the author of the best-selling novel We Were Not Men. He’s also a winner of a St Kilda Film Festival Award (as writer-director) and is a former winner of the prized Best Australian Sports Writing Award.

Mattinson, who is 100% independent, puts a score out of 100 on every wine that he reviews. But what he’d rather do, is tell you the wine’s story.

https://www.campbellmattinson.com
Previous

Eight at the Gate Pinot Gris 2024
Next

Eight at the Gate Family Selection Chardonnay 2023