2014 – superlative for Hunter Shiraz

During the 1970s and 1980s, when the fortunes of the Hunter Valley wine region north of Sydney were in the ascendant, local vigneron Murray Tyrrell built a reputation for hyperbole – and for the Hunter – by loudly declaring each harvest ‘the vintage of the century!’ – regardless of how badly the vineyards had been battered that year by flooding rains, heatwaves or bushfires, all common in the Hunter just before picking. 

It’s a shame Murray’s no longer with us, because in 2014 – for once – his superlatives would have been spot-on. 

Although I am based far away in...