Fox Creek Short Row Shiraz 2001

Fox Creek Wines was established in 1984 when Helen and Dr Jim Watts purchased a 32 hectare property on Malpas Road in McLaren Vale. The Short Row Shiraz is the baby brother of the famous Reserve Shiraz and was added to the range in 1999 and positioned at a more affordable price than the much sort after Reserve Shiraz. The 'Short Row' refers to the rows of vines that are adjacent to the cellar door. The wine is selected from Shiraz parcels that are sourced from the best vineyard blocks.

"This is a delicious shiraz in the full-blooded style that is McLaren Vale's signature. Ripe plum, dark chocolate, vanilla, jam, and dusty oak all figure in the complex bouquet, and the palate is deep and lush with superb length and balance."  Epicure Uncorked  

Expert reviews

"This is a delicious shiraz in the full-blooded style that is McLaren Vale's signature. Ripe plum, dark chocolate, vanilla, jam, and dusty oak all figure in the complex bouquet, and the palate is deep and lush with superb length and balance."  Epicure Uncorked Winter 2003   ★★★★★

"Matured for 12 months in a mix of 90 per cent American and ten per cent two-year-old French oak. Medium to full red-purple; the bouquet has rich, ripe blackberry/blackcurrant and chocolate fruit aromas supported by controlled oak. The powerful, complex, fruit-driven palate, with abundant ripe tannins, needs decades. Best Drinking: 2008 to 2018."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion – 91 points

"A serious Shiraz, dense, broad and generous with its peppery, slightly gamy blackberry, plum and spice flavors, nicely focused to persist against a layer of chewy tannins on the finish."  Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator – 91 points

"Fox Creek has a whole bevy of statuesque reds, two of which I think are the ant's pants when it comes to big, bold but also very drinkable McLaren Vale reds. They are the 2001 JSM and the 2001 Short Row Shiraz. 

"Both the JSM and Short Row have impressed before. Both have excellent colours in 2001, the Short Row showing plum jam, vanilla/chocolate and dusty oak on the nose, with more tannin and a chewier texture, the flavours being neither under- nor over-ripe. Both wines are rich, concentrated and long, with abundant fleshy extract. But neither is excessively alcoholic, tannic or oaky. The Short Row has more structure, may live longer, and would suit a hearty beef casserole."  Huon Hooke, Good Weekend

About the winery

Fox Creek Wines is a winery located in the McLaren Vale region of South Australia. McLaren Vale is a highly regarded wine region known for its rich history, Mediterranean climate, and abundant sunshine, which provide ideal growing conditions for a wide variety of grapes.

Fox Creek Wines was established in 1984 when Helen and Dr Jim Watts purchased a 32 hectare property on Malpas Road in McLaren Vale. Going against popular advise at the time, they planted vines in the black clay soils that had previously been used for growing barley. A decade later their flagship shiraz won the Trophy for the best wine at the McLaren Vale Wine Show.  They won this award again in 1998 and 2003 and their Reserve Shiraz achieved international acclaim. Subsequently many of their wines have won trophies and medals at national and international wine shows.

Early in 2021 Helen Watts (at the tender age of 86) sold Fox Creek Wines to Ben Gibson, Jock Harvey and Dim Georgiadis, who are long-time friends and industry colleagues. The winemaker is Ben Tanzer.