2016 Domaine Terlato & Chapoutier lieu dit Malakoff Shiraz Pyrenees Australia 750 ml

The 2016 Domaine Terlato & Chapoutier lieu dit Malakoff Shiraz is a collaboration of true wine royalty, and one of the most exciting international alliances anywhere. It starts with the winemaking pedigree of Rhône icon Michel Chapoutier, whose flagship Hermitage bottlings reach well into the $300s, and who has earned over 40 perfect scores on his home turf.

Chapoutier expanded to Australia, where he’s been defying the norms of what’s possible since 1998, when he discovered a site on the eastern hills of the Australian Pyrenees in Central Victoria. He convinced Napa godfather Tony Terlato to help him plant it, and by 2004, they’d released their first wines. 

Robert Parker catapulted the project to international recognition when he tasted the upstart bottlings, calling the first effort “a lusty Australian blockbuster”—and today’s 92-point 2016 lieu dit Malakoff delivers on Parker’s promise. It packs the structure and substance more associated with Chapoutier’s triple-digit-priced Rhône Syrahs into this affordable bottle, making it a steal at the SRP of $39—and our nation’s best price of $18 a head-spinning value of regal proportions.

In their 92-point review of the 2016 lieu dit Malakoff, the Wine Advocate marveled at the wine’s “savory point of difference when it's tasted against many of its Australian peers.” Forward and generous like the best of Aussie Shiraz, its layered richness is aromatized with wild thyme, rosemary, game, pink and black peppercorn, and bergamot. With firmly structured tannins and a focused, energetic mouthfeel, it glides across the palate before crescendoing with exotic spice notes that dovetail into a long, gamey finish.

Robert Parker, in addition to the “lusty” praise above, went even deeper on this project, writing: “The wines are of very high quality and deserve readers’ attention. Hopefully my prose has convinced more than a handful of readers to try these remarkable wines from one of the most fascinating and compelling personalities in the entire wine world, and one dedicated to the highest quality.”

We’ve recognized Michel Chapoutier as a visionary for just about as long as Parker: The winemaker's strength lies in taming single-vineyard Syrah selections into wines with power and elegance, and that’s what he’s managed to do in Australia, maintaining a Shiraz that’s more akin to a peppery Rhône Syrah than its riper peers.

Malakoff Vineyard stretches out over 46 acres in Western Central Victoria that were still undeveloped at the turn of the century. But Chapoutier saw promise in the rolling hills and own-rooted, Phylloxera-free vines—a rare luxury that allows the Shiraz to express its purest, most unadulterated character. Terlato, who has been trusting Chapoutier’s instincts since the 1980s, asked no questions.

The Shiraz grapes from this site experience the full ripening power of the bright Southern Hemisphere sun, while continual cool breezes mitigate temperatures in the vineyard. The result is rich and distinctive Shiraz that has excellent acidity, and will keep evolving over the next decade or more.

At $18, this 2016 Domaine Terlato & Chapoutier lieu dit Malakoff Shiraz is not only a thrilling value for fans of spicy, savory, full-bodied reds, but a rare opportunity to experience the work of a true master, for a song.