Wine of the week: Barossa Valley Estate GSM 2017

The Barossa Valley Estate GSM is an Australian red blend that is simple, but still interesting and enjoyable

Before the pandemic, the last Australian red to be a wine of the week was the much appreciated and much missed Pillar Box Red. In 2015. Which should tell you that Australian reds stopped interesting me a long time ago.

So why is the Barossa Valley Estate GSM 2017 ($13, purchased, 13.5%) the third red Aussie to be the wine of the week in the past 15 months? Several reasons:

• Frankly, I’ve tried harder to be a better critic, tasting wines that I might have passed up before.

• More Australian reds in the blog’s price range have been on store shelves. Pre-pandemic, Yellow Tail was most of what I saw from Australia in red for less than $15.

• Many Aussie reds have lightened their approach since the days of the infamous 15.5 percent, squid ink dark, teeth-defiling shirazes that Robert Parker championed.

The Barossa Valley GSM is a fine example of that third point. If nothing else, it’s a simple – but not stupid – red blend with grenache, mourvedre, and syrah from a region that didn’t export many simple, but not stupid, wines in the past. In this, it tastes Australian without being over the top. There is lots of dark berry fruit, but the fruit doesn’t enter Parker Smucker’s territory.

This is despite the presence of grenache, which can turn any wine too jammy with a minimal of effort. In fact, it’s surprisingly balanced – bright even, if that’s to be believed.

Drink this with any weekend barbecue or even takeout pizza during the week.

Imported by Delegat USA