Wolf Blass Grey Label Shiraz

Apparently Grey Label was the first wine ever made by Wolf Blass back in 1967. Wolf Blass being Wolfgang Franz Otto Blass a German born boy who ran away from school at the age of 15, he was told he had two choices, either go back to school or start a 3 year apprentice with a wine business. Good on ya Wolfie!

Keeping things nice and simple (probably because he left school at 15) Wolf Blass has kindly colour coded his wines. This Grey Label, which used to be Brown, sits above the flash Gold Label and just below the extremely flash Black label. Got it?

And it’s no flake, she’s your big inky full bodied South Australian stonker we all love! We urge extreme caution, with its deliciously full bodied, plush, dark berry fruit flavours you hardly notice the whopping 14.5% alcohol!

92/100 (James Halliday’s Wine Companion)
“This is polished and luxurious in feel, with a suave veneer of oak (French and American, 27% new). Some parcels completed fermentation in barrel, yielding a creamy mid-palate adorned with blackberry, plum, espresso, dark chocolate, clove, tar and mint. The generous house style sits front and centre, but with welcome restraint from the cool year, the refined tannins and keen balance carrying long.”

93/100 & Top Rank Award (Huon Hooke, The Real Review)
“Very deep, dark, dense purple-red colour, stains the glass, while the bouquet is a riot of coconut, chocolate, vanilla and some peppery high-notes. It’s very full bodied and rich, fleshy, dense and almost opulent, with lashings of soft tannins and generous helpings of everything, oak inciuded. It just needs time. A great cellaring proposition. “

Produced from exceptional fruit from across Wolfie’s McLaren Vale vineyards, given 15 months in oak, she’ll cellar for a good ten years or more from vintage.