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1973 vintage guide for Red Australia

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Not a vintage to demonstrate Australian winemaking talent

Weather Conditions

Not exactly a vintage to showcase Australian winemaking talent, 1973 was hampered by a summer that began wet and cool and remained that way.

Best Appellations

Reasonable results from Coonawarra and Hunter Valley. Barossa also fared adequately.

Best Producers

Despite a damp summer, Lindemans produced a classically soft and earthy regional Shiraz bottled as Lindemans Hunter River Burgundy Bin 4800. The old Shiraz vines at Henschkes Hill of Grace vineyard made a typically long-living wine that has developed well with delightful leathery complexity. Chateau Tahbilks Reserve Bin 59 Cabernet Sauvignon has also matured well into a rich and chocolatey, if very tannic wine.

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