| Community Tasting Notes (average 88 pts. and median of 88 pts. in 57 notes) - hiding notes with no text |
| | Tasted by Czara96 on 5/4/2018 & rated 92 points: Ok I learned from a great wine maker when I lived in Italy that if you profile a great wine based on varietal, region, climate, and winery, you can push the envelope by aging beyond the norm. There is inherent risk in the wine going off but if you store properly and take a calculated risk, well baboom - magic in the bottle. I have the algorithm for this - shhh.
The Tranformational Wine Experiment:
This ‘06 Pillar Box Reserve Shiraz at 16% alc. opened up with a pop and pour to a beautiful dark plum colour with a pronounced dark berry, plum and liquorice profile. Very balanced and stable with good tannins and great acidity. Remarkable wine for 12 years and given the suggested drink window was through 2011. This is well beyond the drink window but this is drinking like a big bold Aussie! Paired with butter chicken and basmati rice - spectacular. (1251 views) |
| | Tasted by Alandel on 12/24/2013 & rated 89 points: Certainly past it's prime, but pleasant to drink nevertheless. (2539 views) |
| | Tasted by Alandel on 11/17/2013 & rated 88 points: Pleasant, but reasonably unremarkable. Has enjoyed the bottle age, and is well ready now. (2550 views) |
| | Tasted by Alandel on 7/26/2013 & rated 90 points: This is a big Padthaway red. Thick and fruity, with a peppery high octane mouth feel. (2702 views) |
| | Tasted by cstir on 3/18/2013 & rated 87 points: Dark berry flavor; tartness; modest tannins; average finish. (2886 views) |
| | Tasted by Wineonthevine on 10/19/2012 & rated 87 points: Popped and poured at Le Diner in SF. My date and friends liked it. I didn't care for it that much. It wasn't bad, just didn't like the slight sharpness from the tannins or is it something else?
Nose not discernible in the breeze. Good dark color. Notes of blackberry, plum and pepper. Fruit has mellowed. Leaves a slightly bitter after taste. Drink it if you have it. Wouldn't bother buying it. (2554 views) |
| | Tasted by crowino on 9/21/2012 & rated 85 points: Nicely aged, maybe a touch too much, but really not a big issue. Tannins are almost gone (which is why I've lowered the rating a bit) but nicely integrated into the wine to give the finish a cedar character. The acid is nice and the fruit has lasted an amazingly long time. I'd have liked it more plump and edgy, but I can't really expect too much from a $23 dollar wine, not really built for too much ageing. I like it. (1423 views) |
| | Tasted by pmbohn on 9/1/2012 & rated 91 points: I can hardly believe this was a mid $20 bottle.. classy bouquet of smoke, vanilla, saddle leather, bacon, and blueberry. Full-bodied with no hard edges to its lengthy finish. (1419 views) |
| | Tasted by pmbohn on 6/15/2012 & rated 90 points: Great! (1370 views) |
| | Tasted by cstir on 1/11/2012 & rated 87 points: Fruit forward with syrup feel but limited texture and depth; short finish. (1558 views) |
| | Tasted by bacchus on 12/26/2011 & rated 90 points: shared with ellen, mahesh and pat at selkirk manor. paired with leftover prime beef tenderloin, roast potato, carrots and onions from christmas day. did not decant this time. the wine still packs a powerful punch. high alcohol but plenty of dark fruit to carry it along. firm structure should allow it to go at least another year. everyone at the table enjoyed although they had some difficulty zeroing in on the shiraz grape. i like this wine better than most other tasters. will look for it again, if not in this vintage then the next one. (1594 views) |
| | Tasted by mrpalmer on 11/18/2011 & rated 88 points: I still like this. Ditto on my previous note - not refined. (1755 views) |
| | Tasted by TheWrongAlex on 9/21/2011 & rated 89 points: Tons of fruit and grape soda on the nose. Very thick mouthfeel. Dark chocolate notes, earthy with some blackberries. Decanted for 30 min but probably still needs more time. (563 views) |
| | Tasted by MadisonWIneGuy on 4/12/2011 & rated 89 points: Plenty of blueberry and blackberry on the nose, and maybe a little clove in there too. On the palate there's plenty of that blueberry and blackberry up front, with some vanilla as well. On the mid-palate there's a little cola and oak. The back-end is where it loses the 90. It's just not smooth. Still some serious tannins perhaps, because there's a little bitterness and pucker here. Still a very nice glass of wine, and not a bad QPR at all. Enjoyed it. (1846 views) |
| | Tasted by mlunt on 7/21/2010 & rated 85 points: I was going to say that this tasted like grape kool-aid, but re-reading previous notes, I think that "syrupy" sums it up better. I'm used to Cali cabs and this had waaay more fruit and was really extracted. Not my style of wine, but I'm sure some enjoy it. (2276 views) |
| | Tasted by wineislife on 2/22/2010 & rated 87 points: Big blackberry and plum bouquet. A bit more toned down than I was looking for (i.e. other Ringland productions). This has a heavy, dark fruit on the finish but it is fairly simple, missing a layering effect. I liked it, but certainly didn't love it. (2861 views) |
| | Tasted by dwaynelm on 2/1/2010 & rated 89 points: Blackberry, black licorice, cherry, smokey oak/vanilla, big tannin and balanced acidity. (2352 views) |
| | Tasted by Zinlady on 11/20/2009 & rated 90 points: We enjoyed this wine. It is big. It fills your mouth. Enjoy is heaviness. We had with a vegetarian meal (2696 views) |
| | Tasted by rmicroys on 10/27/2009: Having this with a steak, red pepper, onion, mushroom and feta pizza. This is a very big fruit wine, loaded with upfront fruit. 16% alc by vol - this is rather boozy. Not bad, though I feel I prefer the regular pillar box more. (2743 views) |
| | Tasted by rmicroys on 10/10/2009 & rated 88 points: Good wine, but not as good as I would have expected. big boozy fruit, but lacks finesse, and has a slight bitter aftertaste. Almost like the red labeled regular labeled pillar box red better. A year or two in the cellar may take off the edge on the aftertaste. (2649 views) |
| | Tasted by Stephan O on 8/27/2009 & rated 84 points: Previous naysayers have summed this one up well, I think. It actually makes me wonder why I buy sub-$20 Aussie Shirazes any more. True, they're wines that I can actually afford, but that's not a good enough reason standing alone. This one, like the past few in the category, is way too heavy-handed on the oak, the syrupy alcohol, and the infamous "oodles of fruit." It mellows somewhat after about three days so that you can sort of taste the blackberry, pepper, and clove that peek through. And I don't mean to single this one out based on the cumulative flaws of the other bargain-priced Aussie Shirazes I've had lately. Still, it's hard work enjoying this stuff. Better to have half as much Syrah at twice the price to gain twice the fulfillment. Or just buy a Luca Laborde Double Select (yum) at almost the same price. (2765 views) |
| | Tasted by John McCabe on 5/28/2009 & rated 89 points: I was quite happy with this. Surprisingly good for the price (2973 views) |
| | Tasted by LarryInBrookline on 5/22/2009 & rated 85 points: Disappointing after the excellent red-label Pillar Box. A sour nip on first sip followed by a constant drone of simple pepper and nothing more (2938 views) |
| | Tasted by armchairsommelier on 4/21/2009 & rated 79 points: I will preface my comments by saying Aussie Shiraz isn't my favorite wine in general. That said, this wine did nothing for me. I found it harsh and aggressive, over the top in fruit, and out of whack with the acidity. It may benefit from decanting, but I didn't like it enough to try again. Salud! (2943 views) |
| | Tasted by LarryInBrookline on 4/12/2009 & rated 90 points: More refined than a lot of the Aussies. It holds your interest immediately, it doesn't shout at you like the others, it has some complexity and length. (3003 views) |
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