Sydney Morning Herald - 24.05.11 - 87/100 also appeared in the Maitland Mercury and the Ballarat Courier
“This shiraz is a touch stewed but is excellent value, with pepper/spice, char/oak and prune-juice aromas leading into a light to medium-bodied palate with some well-balanced tannins.”
Mount Barker Courier - 26.01.11
"Is a co-fermentaton of 6% viognier with shiraz. Dense red with inky hues, it presents aromas of black pepper and apricot and on the palate has rich fruit flavours and silky tannins. The previous vintage won international golds and this 2009 should go the same way."
Western Suburbs Weekly - 21.12.10 - 18 Points
"It has a serious quality and dense mouth feel: it's balanced, easy, soft and textured. Though young, it is just a lovely drink."
Fine Wine Club - Barry Weinman - July 2010 - 17.7 Points
“Quite ethereal and yet beguiling. This hints at fruit but it is very shy, though one panelist found red berry, plum and fennel. The fruit quality is matched by oak and skilled making. Will evolve. Great value.”
St Petersburg Times , USA - Wine of the Week - Colette and John Bancroft - 09.06.10 also appeared in The Worcester Telegram & Gazette
'The red shiraz dominates at 94 percent while the white viognier serves largely as an intensifier, the wine's deep red colour giving no inkling of the latter's presence. Although colour offers no clue, the floral note on the blackberry and cassis nose gives the viognier away. On the tongue, tart and juicy blackberry with a nice brambly edge fairly explodes. The taste is not unlike that of a sugarless blackberry cobbler, the unadulterated berry set off by warm spice and just a touch of honey from the viognier. The result is lush and lively.'
Your Wine Experience News - 28.05.10
'This is an unpretentious drinkable red that gives you all the dark berry flavour and that somewhat peppery quality of Shiraz...but with a touch of Viognier.'
Wines of Australia, WholeFoodsMarket.com - Feb 2010
'The Angove family, winemakers since 1886, make this deep inky red wine with a nod to their history and a high five to the future. A centuries old Rhone blend of red and white grape varieties, it's warm, rich and lively with spicy black pepper and apricot notes. Pair it with pulled pork roasted root vegetables, hearty pasta dishes or creamy Bleu d'Auvergne cheese, with a gentle spiciness that allows the Shiraz and Viognier blend to come through.'
Midwest Wine Connection - Jan/Feb Issue 2010 - 90 Points
'Packed full of rich flavours. Slightly tannic finish. A crowd favourite.'
Amuse Bouche - Jan 2010
Host, Toast and Post - The 2009 Nine Vines Holiday Challenge
'The peppery Shiraz-Viognier paired fabulously with all of the components of the dish. Overall the Shiraz-Viognier won best wine of the evening. Our guests really enjoyed the Nine Vines wines and were impressed by how well they paired with the food.'
Quaff 2010 - Peter Forrestal
The Best Wines in Australia Under $15 - Good
'This is a robust Riverland red with lashings of vanillin oak, powerful, dense dark plum flavours, silky smooth texture, and substantial ripe tannins that are approachable. Perhaps not for the faint-hearted but a much-loved style.'
Wine Spectator - Oct 2009 - 86 Points
'Firm in texture, with juicy plum and blackberry fruit that dances lightly over the fine tannins as they grip lightly.'
James Halliday 2010 Australian Wine Companion - Rating 90 Points
'Light, bright crimson-purple; vibrantly fresh and juicy, the viognier component working to perfection. Great drink-now style, slightly chilled.'
NB Wines - Wines of New Brunswick Blog - August 2009
Nine Vines Shiraz Viognier 2007
--- Iron Chef's Review ---
"Ever since the Wolftrap opened my eyes to the Shiraz/Viognier blend, I have been meaning to try this wine.
Nose: Cola- like Dr Pepper. Mint and Asian spice like Sesame seed oil. Vey full and deep nose. Taste: Plummy with a creamy mouth feel - malolactic fermentation. Good tannins, some gamey notes. Not sweet as I have come to expect with Aussie wines. Warm integrated oak. Long finish that really excels in the mid palate- somewhere that many, many wines go flat or hollow. Very creamy and enjoyable. Food friendly matched well with Korean marinated steaks, balanced."
Australian Wine Review - Andrew Graham - 17.06.09
The Nine Vines Tempranillo Shiraz smells ripe, simple and rather sweet on the nose - indeed it shows as typically Riverland sweet & heavy cropped. But nestled in there is a whiff of volatility & a splash of meaty flavour that hints at the interest below. The palate too is loaded with sweet grape juice - almost Hubba Bubba like in its grapey (but not residual) sweetness. Again, its rescued by some gritty seriousness, with a bit of 'chew' on the back end injecting this with some appeal beyond simple fruitiness. The Tempranillo also delivers leather/beef savouriness that neatly slots in below the Hubba Bubba to make things more interesting. Ultimately, this is a sweet fruit driven red, with plenty of appeal, at a realistic price. My score does not reflect the drinkability. 15.0
West Australian - 25.6.09
Nine Vines Shiraz Viognier 2007
'Appealing wine displaying some nice sweet spicy fruit of light plum and vanilla essence. The mix of stone fruit with a little gingery edge sits nearly with the lush plumy fruit.'
North Rivers Echo
Nine Vines Shiraz Viognier 2006
'A lovely purple crimson with some tannin recognizable but really no harsh aftertaste; this is a smooth red. The nose is pepper with something of the perfume of a red rose and possible vanilla bean and the taste of red apple and blackcurrant. A lovely mid-winter wine which would go well with roast lamb.'
Adegga.com - USA - June 2009
Nine Vines Shiraz Viognier 2007
4.2 Star Review - �Appearance: medium purple red. Nose: very perfumed first nose with black cherry, black perfume and white pepper. The perfumed, floral quality comes from the Viognier here. Oak is non-intrusive. Palate: balanced high alcohol, pleasant fruit, medium acidity and quite good length. Conclusion: This punches above its weight quality wise. Like other producers of decent Shiraz Viognier, Angove's believes in fermenting both varieties together which seems to work well. Good stuff.'
The Good Wine Guru - USA - June 2009
Nine Vines Shiraz Viognier 2007
'Big aromas of berry, especially blackberry, fruit, vanilla and spice that only increase as the wine has time to acerate. Smooth on the palate, berry and vanilla flavours lead into a long finish, compliments of the slightly higher alcohol content of this wine.
The Adelaide Advertiser Top 100 - 26.11.08
88 POINTS
Predominantly and proudly Riverland grown. From one of the regions top vineyards, this shiraz is shy about its co fermented Viognier which adds to a lifted, flinty and spiced nose, the fruit sweetly positioned in the mouth while reasonably noticeable tannins put some power into the palate.
James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2009
93 Points 4 * Stars
The viognier has a very marked impact on the bouquet, and also to the black cherry and plum fruit in great abundance on the palate; good tannin and oak support.
www.worldmarket.com, Cost Plus Website USA, July 2008
'Angove's is a family-owned Australian winery that wins lots of awards. That's why when we heard they were finally selling their wines in the U.S., we raised our hands and said, "We'll take it!" Loved by wine critics and adored by World Market, Angove's wines are the perfect combination of quality, flavor and price everyone wants in a daily wine.
Angove's Nine Vines Shiraz-Viognier
If you love wine, you'll love this wine. If you don't love wine, you will love this wine. Rich as a fruit-filled chocolate cake with a frivolous hint of floral from the Viognier, this wine lingers on the palate for what seems like forever. Trust us. You'll want it to. '
San Jose Mercury News - Laurie Daniel - 20.5.08
Try the 2006 Angove's "Nine Vines" Shiraz Viognier ($12), which is ripe and a little smoky, with pretty berry flavors.
Midwest Wine Connection - March 2008 - USA
Nine Vines Shiraz Viognier 2006 featured as #5 in Aussie Top 15 under $15
90 Points
"Spicy, really spicy with black pepper tones throughout. What a blend! This is great."
CHOW Food & Wine On Line Magazine - Feb 2008 USA
2007 Nine Vines Shiraz Viognier
"Taking a deep whiff, I caught a strong mixture of the Shiraz fruit, the Viognier floral quality, a certain gassy/cheese element that suggested strong, hearty foods. In the mouth, the wine had a more delicate feel than I expected, just enough tannin to give it some grip, and a youthful quality to the red-apple fruit. A very nice wine at an equally nice price."