Tasting Notes 34 found

Ok. Now I get it. Wonderfully flavoursome and balanced. Familar nose of mature berries and old wood but the palate is where the fire works are. Soft berry fruit with a low key lining of acid. Oak is very low impact, as is the tannin. More cabernet than shiraz to my tastes and more blackberry comes through late. Really good and looks great at 13 years. Can't imagine too much trouble getting through to 16 - 18 years. (321 views)

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Purple with ruby at the rim. Fragrant smoky nose with hints of caramel and licorice. Forward palate with dark fruits and hints of spice and caramel. Medium to full bodied with pleasant acidity, soft tannins, and a lengthy, elegant finish. Well balanced and integrated. Everything just softens and comes together a little more with some air. This will still last a few more years, but I'm not sure it's going to get much better. 90 Pts. (413 views)

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Mid-red with real fading at rim. Nose initially a bit quiet and too evolved, making us worry that the wine was past its peak. Needn't have worried as the wine emerged after an hour or so after opening - soft raspberry fruit and oak on nose and some dark fruit fleshiness on the palate. Quite decent acidity and rounded, integrated tannins. Not quite as good as my previous bottle, but still beautiful to drink now. Drink up (on this evidence at least). (778 views)

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NobleRottersSydney - Old Penfolds & 2001 Bin releases (Lucio's, Paddington): This wine was a much paler brick red than I would have anticipated. The first aromas are of a deep-throated candy blast - liquorice almost - which rather reminds me of the 89 Grange. Here also is the first hint of that typical meaty, tarriness that old Penfolds wines can develop. The wine has not come together yet – tannins are still profound, but the palate is good and even and the length is impressive. I wonder if the aromatics aren’t helped by a whiff of VA as well. However, for it’s attractive qualities, I can’t help feeling this bottle is prematurely developed – other tastings of this wine over the past 2-3 years have revealed far more backward and closed specimens. A poor bottle, I fear. (235 views)

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NobleRottersSydney - Old Penfolds night (Guillaume at Bennelong): {cork, 13.5%} Solid red with a little bricking at the rim. A nose of cedary wood-spice over restrained primary chocolate fruits. Tannins are still quite distinct, and despite a suspicion of premature development (there’s seems a lack of freshness somehow) the palate balance is excellent. Other bottles in recent years have tasted better than this one; on that basis I’d say this needs more cellar time. (261 views)

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NobleRottersSydney - Penfolds 96-98 +ring-ins (Alio's, Surry Hills): {cork, 13.5%} If anyone ever had doubts, this trio [+St Henri, Magill] confirms the greatness of Penfolds’ 1996 offerings. The Bin 389 is now in a developing phase, although the rich Barossa-type fruitcake/date/raspberry fruit is only just moving away from primary characters. Yes, there’s vanillan oak but it’s not intrusive, just a component part of the whole. The palate is dry, with medium powdery tannins, terrific intensity, and a rising tide of spicy extracted cinnamon fruit weight which coats the tongue all the way to the back palate. I find the acidity a little pokey at the moment, but that’s a minor quibble in the scheme of things. A long life ahead of it; this can safely be left another ten years, I reckon. (916 views)

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Bright dark purple, slight bricking. Bouquet; dark fruits, blackcurrant jam, spices. Taste; Big dark fruits, blackcurrant jam, black cherries, followed by vanilla, chocolate, tobacco. Firm tannins, long lingering flavours. Plenty of life left in this. 91pts (1081 views)

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NobleRottersSydney - Penfolds prior to 2000 (Alio's, Surrey Hills): [cork, 13.5%] Two bottles of this, from different cellars, spoke the same language, but with faintly different accents. In general this is a classically youthful version of the 1990 (oh, joy!), with the ripe red fruit / chocolate flavours predominant in a primary kind of way. One bottle displayed a faint touch of reduction, the other was a little more taut and closed. The palate is still powerfully tannic, not too oaky, full-bodied, with ripe red fruits. Seems more shiraz than cabernet at this age. Minimal aging evident so far. If the ’90 is a guide, this could be left for another twenty years. (1091 views)

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Vibrant dark inky purple colour. Bouquet; red cherry, blackcurrant, leather, vanilla, liquorice, tight, needs plenty of hours to open up. Taste; black fuits, blackcurrant jam, black cherry, firm tannins, leather, cinamon, long finish, plenty of life left in this and may improve further yet. 90pts (1126 views)

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Colour is starting to go brick red. Upfront leather and some chocolate finishing with some raisin - nice and long. (1152 views)

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rich & velvety blackberry & cassis. (349 views)

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Very nice. Can probably improve for another few years. A pity that we had so many of these bottles early on... (2020 views)

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Dark fruit nose. Rather out of balance on the palate with some VA showing through and a flabby, unsupported body. OK. (2264 views)

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Based on a tasting on 9 months ago I thought this wine was on the improve but sadly I cannot confirm on this occasion. Looking very mature with drying red berries and oak, low impact oak. Grainy tannin still in play and this holds the wine together. I don't get the positivity that seems to prevail around this vintage. (2206 views)

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This has now thrown a lot of sediment but is still fresh and delicious. I am glad to have 4 or 5 more bottles to drink over the next couple of years. (2641 views)

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