2006 David Hook The Gorge Shiraz

Hunter Valley, Lower Hunter 14.5% Screwcap CD $16.20- Tasted 17/9/09

That price is for the 2007 release. You can find some of this 2006 floating around Brisbane for a bit more. And it’s still excellent value. Yes, it’s Hunter shiraz from a good vintage for reds. So we have regional earth, leather, red fruit blah blah blah. But we have more thank Jebus. Tar and liquorice and spice, yes. But what makes it different? What makes me tell you that David Hook is a force to be a reckoned with. A Hero in an era of wines that are often just too…well, boring and clean.

Some call it rusticity, like a good Chianti. Others say Farmyard. The descriptor Sauvage is thrown around and may be fair. Others might even just say it smells a bit like shit. The point is it works and it’s not just Brett. It’s character.

I know nothing about David Hook, other than he toils in his Belford vineyard, planted in the 80s, to make the world a better place. I suspect he has a full moustache and maybe even a beard. His would be a no nonsense approach to wine making. And in a world with too much nonsense, we cry out for the likes of David Hook. And he and his wines are amongst us. Earthy and rustic, they’ll be there for you when it all seems to much. And it often does.

Oh, the acid/tannin structure and length are impeccable too. I’m off to purchase his Barbera as soon as Dan Murphy’s opens this morning. Thank you Mr Hook. Thank you.

Winery Website- http://www.davidhookwines.com.au/