Grant Burge 20 Year Old Tawny: seasonal wine of the day

It’s a snowy morning here in London and, with temperatures set to plummet to minus six degrees centigrade tonight and minus eight tomorrow, I can think of no better way to warm up than a drop of Grant Burge 20 Year Old Tawny. This year it scooped the Decanter World Wine Awards trophy for best Australian Fortified for the third time in five years and went on to win the best International Sweet Fortified over £10 too.  

It certainly impressed me at this year’s Landmark Tutorial (see here for my report of the fortified masterclass) – here’s my tasting note: 

Grant Burge 20 Year Old Tawny (Barossa Valley) – with its reddish core, this still youthful looking blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, Shiraz has plenty of fruit to boot.  Expansive and generous as you’d expect from the Barossa, it’s rich and sweet with plum cake, raisins, dates, glacé cherry and whole blanched almonds to its generous mid-palate.  Long and powerful – a feast in a glass!  It costs £28.95 at Hailsham Cellars and, together with other Decanter Gold and Trophy wines, can be sampled when you purchase a tasting card at The Sampler (see here for details).