Doug Neal is the hero Australian shiraz needs

Once upon a time, back in 1978, shiraz muffins were produced to cope with an oversupply of red grapes.

Today, with another oversupply crisis on the doorstep of the Australian wine industry, there’s talk of distilling shiraz and other grapes in excess into industrial alcohol.

All of this is leaving our best-known red grape feeling just a little unwanted and unloved.

It could do with a hero.

Enter Doug Neal, winemaker and shiraz evangelist. The former schoolteacher-turned-winemaker is a forceful advocate for the grape. He has been enamoured with shiraz since working and learning the ropes from Rick Kinzbrunner at Giaconda in Beechworth in the late ’80s.

By the time he turned full-time to wine and was working as winemaker at Paradise IV in Geelong in the early 2000s, he was well and truly hooked. Now, under his own label, Altera Terra, Doug is drilling down into individual expressions from across Victoria, South Australia and Canberra.

Doug Neal is a forceful advocate for shiraz. Photo credit: James Broadway.

Now is not the time to give up on shiraz

“Australia’s greatest red is and will always be shiraz,” he says. “Give me the quality and consistency of Australian shiraz any day. It is the most suitable and delicious wine for our soils and climate.”

Sadly, not everyone agrees with such a ringing assessment.

Shiraz is in the doldrums with lacklustre enthusiasm from Aussie drinkers and export markets alike. In 2024, for the first time in a long time, more chardonnay than shiraz was crushed during vintage.

It’s a different story with other red grapes. Grenache is stealing hearts, pinot noir remains in the throes of a passionate love affair with drinkers, and even nebbiolo is having a moment.

Doug argues now is not the time to give up on shiraz. Rather, it’s time to double down.

Australian shiraz needs to move with the times

The traditional bold style of Aussie shiraz is being questioned.

The future for the grape in Australia, he argues, is not so much about being patient and waiting for consumers to come around but being proactive.

“Shiraz will come again,” he argues. “But the question is, what type of shiraz? I think the trend is to the medium-bodied style that is more universal and exportable.” And his preference is for something with complexity, finesse, flavour and perfume. The word ‘finesse’ gets a fair workout in his wine vocabulary.

When it comes to shiraz, Doug has a few base rules. They were on show at a recent tasting of Paradise IV’s Dardel Shiraz 2006–2018; a wine that first established his serious winemaking credentials – especially shiraz.

The last Dardel made, 2018, beautifully captures Neal’s crush on the grape: spice-fuelled, a fineness of expression, tannins that are both confident adding to structure but also silky, and an almost silent partnership with oak – which all contribute to highlighting the beauty of the fruit.

Rocky soils are king

Neal’s preference is for shiraz grown on rockier soils rather than lush, deep soils. “I see more tension, complex aromatics and structure,” he says.

For Altera Terra, he takes shiraz from Murrumbateman, Pyrenees and Blewitt Springs in McLaren Vale, which cover a multitude of rocky sites from granite, schist, red sandstone and clay through to quartz.

“All of these sites provide significant differences,” he explains.

The role of oak in shiraz winemaking

Next comes the role of oak. It’s a non-negotiable winemaking tool for him.

“Shiraz, for me, needs oak. But it doesn’t need a lot of new oak given the style I like to make.”

Oak, he believes, should sit in the shadows, supporting never dominating.

“The oak must be fine, light and add something to the wine in terms of aromatics, texture and structure.”

To that end, Doug works with Rick Kinzbrunner – who has been importing barrels from leading French cooper Sirugue for 30 years – in designing a range of barrels in Australia for Australian conditions and winemakers. This includes a Cuvee Syrah barrel specifically for shiraz, which has been used by leading producers such as Clonakilla.

“Fortunately, I have a great relationship with Cecile (Sirugue) who is happy for me to be creative,” says Doug. “I am not sure any other cooper does this.”

"Shiraz will come again," argues Doug Neal.

A case for blending

As to the Australian tradition of inter-regional, interstate blending of shiraz – something Europeans, in particular, often have trouble getting their head around and question – Doug is happy to dive in on the debate.

He believes and thrives on the challenges of blending and has questions over the growing celebration and promotion of single vineyard wines.

“I blend for consistency,” he says.

“Single-vineyard wines must have a compelling set of reasons to be single vineyard and worthy of bottling separately to showcase the individual qualities. There are just so many ordinary single-vineyard wines in Oz,” he adds.

“Many of our greatest wines of the ’50s and ’60s were blends, and not just from one region. I look to O'Shea, Preece, et al., for my grounding and inspiration.”

Shiraz may be down, but it ain’t out

Shiraz is quintessentially Australian. It speaks to us with the clarity of time and remains true to who we are as a wine producing and wine drinking nation.

Do we take it too often for granted? Yes.

Do we have too many cheap, ordinary shiraz out there bringing quality and our expectations down? Yes.

Sometimes, it’s important to be reminded by passionate winemakers such as Doug Neal that shiraz might be having a bad time and undergoing a correction that is probably needed, but it will still be there when we return to it.

And, in the meantime, winemaker evangelists like Doug are working on improving the breed.

NOTE: Doug makes wine under his own brand, Altera Terra, but is also winemaker at Hesket Estate, which produces the odd shiraz, is a consultant to Mitchelton, where shiraz stars, and works with Darrin Gaffy to produce Gaffy & Neal where chardonnay rules. 

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