26th December 2005 2003 Shiraz, Tim Smith Wines, Barossa Valley South Australia, £15.99, Oz Wines Whoever Tim Smith is, he's wasted no time in getting right to the heart of the Barossa, with this sincere and passionate expression of his old Shiraz vines near Tanunda. Rich deep, serious – hey, hang on. Not too serious. Seriously irresistable perhaps because the fruit here is so autumn ripe it reminds me of plums left too late for picking as they leak syrup though their skins and wasps mob the bough. Ther fruit is treacly – black treacle, syrup of figs and plums treacle – the chocolate is dark but not black, and someone's skimmed off the burnt top from a rice pudding – and yet it's all in balance. A Barossa classic. Taken from Oz Clarke's Wine Buying Guide 2005 Printable Tasting Sheet