100% Shiraz from grapes grown in the Barossa Valley (85%) and Langhorne Creek (15%) regions of Australia. 60% of the juice is aged in 2nd and 3rd use American oak, the rest is aged in stainless steel vats, so you will get some vanilla and spice from the oak, but not much in the way of aging properties. Parker rated the Luchador Shiraz at 90 pts, the 2006 vintage received a 92 pt. rating, I don’t know how much of the 2006 is available, but it might be worth seeking out. The alcohol content is 14.5%, which is downright tame for an Australian Shiraz.
Black cherry red in color with a strawberry halo. The nose is blueberry preserves, vanilla and some grassy notes in the background. The flavors burst out of the glass, rich blackberry, blueberry, plum and black Twizzlers, vanilla and oak spice on the mid-palate. Smooth almost sweet tannins and a lengthy vanilla Coke finish.
With a masked Mexican grappler on the label, you wouldn’t expect a well balanced, expertly crafted wine. Delicious with gobs of fresh fruit, but well structured, the Luchador would go well with a nice juicy steak and even better with some first class BBQ.
The Shiraz is an estate wine which means it was both grown and bottled on the vineyard property, this is, generally speaking a sign of very high quality. The question becomes, where did the Cab grapes come from?
Actually the grapes are sourced from Barossa valley and Langhorne Creek, I was talking to Chris Ringland and he told me some of the grapes originally intended for his CR Shiraz ended up in the Luchador. Those grapes were from the Ebenezer vineyard