The Chook

Shiraz Viognier

2020
McLaren Vale
South Australia
Australia
Say It
The TCHOOK Shee-RAZ Vee-on-YAY
Varietals
Shiraz, Viognier
$18
Flavors & Quality
Blackberry Blackberry
Smoke Smoke
Licorice Licorice
Linked Character
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Palate Character

Balance & Finesse 2 Rich & Full 2 Light & Bright 2 Smooth & Silky 2 Round & Fleshy 1 Tone & Backbone 2 Powerful & Extracted 2 Bright & Crisp 2
Round & Fleshy
This Wine Your Palate
Lucky You, a linked Palate Character!

This is a predominantly Round & Fleshy wine, but it shares structural nuances of Tone & Backbone as described in the tasting note below.

Tasting Notes
Full bodied with attractive blackberry and red cherry fruit, along with mint, floral and musk notes, finishing with smokey black pepper and licorice spice.
COLOR
Dark Ruby Red
BODY
TANNIN
ACIDITY
SWEET
ALCOH.
14.5%
GRAPE(S)
Shiraz, Viognier
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Why this wine made the cut…
Finding inexpensive, yet complex wines makes us smile.
McLaren Vale, Australia
GRAPE VARIETAL(S)
Shiraz
96% Shee-RAS
Syrah is widely planted throughout the world, but that was not so until the late twentieth century when Syrah was principally grown in the Rhone Valley and, as Shiraz, in Australia. Stylistically, the Palate Character of Syrah can vary depending on ripeness from a rich Round & Fleshy, Tone & Backbone, to a Powerful & Extracted. The flavors and aromas can also vary with a dark, sometimes sweet, fruit character, varying amount of spice, floral, and earth, and smoke, and meaty aromas and flavors.
Viognier
4% Vyo-NYAY
Viognier almost went extinct in the 1960s, but has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. Although grown around the word, it is most famous for the full bodied intensely aromatic floral white wines with a sometimes oily texture grown on granite terraces in Condrieu, and small amount to Syrah in Côte Rôtie, just north of Condrieu, adding aromatic complexity.
Country / State
Australia
Region
South Australia
Sub Region
McLaren Vale
Producer
The Chook
Vintage
2020
The Chook's Tony and Susie Parkinson in the vineyardsThe Chook's Tony and Susie Parkinson in the vineyards

The Chook

McLaren Vale, Australia

Tony and Susie Parkinson launched The Chook (Australian for chicken) in 1988 when they purchased land on the rolling foothills east of McLaren Vale, with the goal of making approachable, varietal wines of distinct character.  

The Chook's Susie Parkinson among vinesThe Chook's Susie Parkinson among vines
The Chook's Tony and Susie Parkinson in the vineyardsThe Chook's Tony and Susie Parkinson in the vineyards

The Parkinsons partner with winemaker Alexia Roberts to make wines with a focus on varietal expression from the top growing regions in South Australia, including McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek, and Padthaway. 

The region overall offers a perfect climate for vine cultivation, with plenty of sunshine in the summer months and mild winters with a good amount of rainfall. Langhorne Creek is one of the oldest wine growing regions in Australia, with the first vine plantings dating back to the 1850s.