The 2005 Shiraz is Cascabel’s only wine not produced from estate fruit. Instead the grapes are sourced from a single vineyard in the cooler climate Fleurieu Peninsula with tiny yields of 1.2 tons per acre. The wine was aged for 18 months in 30% new French oak puncheons. Opaque purple-colored, this Shiraz has an impressive bouquet of pain grille, tar, licorice, smoke, blueberry, and blackberry. Full-bodied, this packed effort delivers intense, complex black fruit flavors, well-concealed tannins, and great length. Somehow, this large-scaled wine manages to retain a sense of elegance. Drink it over the next 8-10 years.Cascabel is a 5 hectare estate, 4 of which are planted to nine varieties. It is the project of Duncan Ferguson and Susana Fernandez, a native of Madrid. The goal is to put a Spanish face on McLaren Vale wines.Importer: Ken Onish and John Gorman, Southern Starz; tel. (714) 892-3030

This is a big, intense wine that just lacks a bit of complexity and nuance. Bold blackberry fruit is framed by vanilla- and coffee-laden oak in this bruiser best suited to partnering a slab of prime porterhouse.——J.C.(4/1/2008)—— 88