Philip Shaw is a household name in wine circles and one of the world's leading winemakers. Formerly the winemaker at Rosemount as well as company winemaker for the Penfolds group of wines. Philip is known for raising the bar on wine quality with modern, vibrant, expressive wines. He approaches each aspect of winemaking with a healthy mix of innovation and unrelenting quality standards. Do you recall that string of Rosemount Shiraz’s that made The Wine Spectator’s top 100 list even though they retailed for less than ten bucks? How does he do it? Philip is involved in every aspect of wine production, from studious regional assessment, vineyard site development, and functional winery design, through to crafting wines that set new benchmarks for vinous modernity, intrinsic quality, and are fantastic values.Philip has twice been awarded the prestigious Robert Mondavi Trophy for International Winemaker of the Year, first in 1986 and again in 2000. He received Australia's top winemaking honor in 1999 as Qantas/Gourmet Traveler Wine Magazine's Australian Winemaker of the Year. His many accolades include 67 wines that have scored more than 90 points in the Wine Spectator; 17 of these have been included in the magazine's Top 100 wines of the Year lists. I had the pleasure of spending a morning with Phil at the Rosemount winery in the Lower Hunter around ten years ago. This was just a functioning winery with no frills, bells or whistles. Phil sure could make it function though.
Phil travels the world to talk and taste with fellow winemakers across Australia, France, Chile, California and most recently Oregon. He occasionally consults on international winemaking projects, such as the recent Cypress range with his son, Daniel Shaw, winemaker at J.Lohr Winery in California.
Since departing Penfolds in 2003, Philip has devoted himself to bringing the cool-climate, high-altitude Australian wine region of Orange to the attention of the world through three highly anticipated new brands - Climbing and Rolling, and his family-owned signature brand, Philip Shaw Wines from his own Koomooloo Vineyard. Although having been in winemaking for forty years, it is still passion for Phil.
Orange is located approximately 124 miles west of Sydney on the slopes of the Great Dividing Ranges. The soils were formed by volcanic activity coupled with limestone build up, thus giving the vineyard a predominance of free draining red clay loam soils. The soil incorporates a smattering of rock which assists drainage and overall balance for the vines. Philip is blessed with being able to work with a contiguous 1250 acre vineyard which is the fourth largest private estate in Australia. The Rolling Wines are sourced from the Central Ranges region of the vineyard. The Central Ranges are located at around 600 meters above sea level. With this elevation, cool temperatures couple with abundant sunshine, giving the fruit incredible color with bright and vibrant flavors. The elevation of the vineyard affects the climate where a mean January (August equivalent in the northern hemisphere) temperature can be as low as 18 degrees Celsius which is 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Mild to warm summers mean that temperatures, which seldom rise above 30C (86 Fahrenheit), are offset by cool to extremely cold nights during the growing season.
Production of the Orange vineyard averages less than three tons to the acre which is incredibly low for Australia and in particular for a wine that will retail at under ten dollars.
Rolling Chardonnay is harvested at night to maximize flavor and avoid oxidation, with much of the procedures being largely hands off with just a light stabilization prior to bottling. A very small percentage of oak was used to highlight the fruit. The end result is a rich, clean wine with vibrant fruit. This is not an over-the-top, oaky wine that can sometimes seen dancing around in people’s wine glasses. Rolling Chardonnay has peach and melon fruit aroma balanced with a very light toasting and vanillin oak character.The wine has a medium structure, good weight on the mid palate with refreshing white peach flavor on the finish.Rolling Chardonnay 2005, Retail $11.99 Warehouse $7.99
The Rolling Shiraz is fermented at a cool 25°C (77 degrees Fahrenheit) and pressed before dryness to enhance its fruit character. Phil made sure not to bully the fruit with too much oak or tannin. Both the Shiraz and Cabernet Merlot show elegant but powerful flavors. The color is medium red with a deep hue. The aroma shows strong vanillin and chocolate characters with a touch of spice. The mid palate has good weight and softness and the soft berry characters carry through to the finish.Rolling Shiraz, Retail $11.99 Warehouse $7.99
Philip Shaw’s exquisite craftsmanship is on display in this rather inexpensive, yet strikingly impressive red blend. Cool climate Orange's future looks rosy with this sort of stylish Bordeaux-like blend hitting the market. The grapes are also fermented at 25°C and pressed before dryness to enhance its fruit characters. The blending provides good structure of the Cabernet with the softness and fullness in the mid palate of the Merlot. This wine shows off fruit, rather than hiding it behind excessive oak, residual sugar or tannins. The aroma shows strong vanillin and chocolate characters with a touch of spice that follows through on the palate.Rolling Cabernet Merlot 2004, Retail 11.99 Warehouse $7.99
Roll on in to your local Wine Warehouse and try Phil’s wines. You’ll be glad you did.
