Ullage into neck. Popped and poured, then drank over 2 hours. Wouldn’t really benefit from decanting. Deep colour hides its real age. Dusty oak and dark fruits. Initially the alcohol came across a touch hot. Great tannin structure. Still standing strong. Should be good drinking for another 2-5 years. Just as good or better than the famed ‘98 vintage. Partner it with a top quality steak on a cold night.
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Awesome shiraz right at its peak. Rich blueberry and blackberry fruit, smooth and well integrated tannin, spicy liquorice, superb match with roast beef. Wish I had more!
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Deep red colour, still, with only a trace of brown at rim. It opened and developed over 2+ hours. Excellent nose with good fruit, some spice and chocolate. Sweet dark fruit - cherries, mulberry fruit with chocolate. Soft integrated vanillic, leathery middle. Very long and smooth. This was the last bottle from a case of 6 and, sadly, there was a very slight touch of TCA. Earlier bottles were rated at 93-95 - why did this affect the last bottle? - Murphy's law, I suppose.... Still a very good match with beef.
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Dark ruby red in colour. Black currants, black fruit, baking spice and black pepper on the nose. Stewed blackberries, black pepper and alcohol on the palate. Will definitely hold up for at least another 2-3 years if not longer.
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What struck me about this was how much life is left in this, it really could be a 2007 or so based upon the colouring, the nose and amount of fruit, I would guess at least another 10 years based upon our tasting last evening, all the classic Barossa notes for sure - Black, full bodied with a nose of plum, black fruit, chocolate, spice, pepper and vanilla, nicely stuctured, well balanced with fine tannins and acidity, still young, smooth/sweet on the palate with great length, outstanding (91 Points).
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Blood red, starting to show age; restrained, verging on lithe, but the tell-tale Barossan chocolately-ness; vigorous, has drive but also a shrill feel; has finesse, very long, fruit starting to fade so safest to drink up soon.
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Really pretty Dark Red to purple Shiraz. Found this on the"last bottle" rack, and truly enjoyed the flavors. I was concerned that it may have sat in an open store for 4-5 yrs, but the bottle age really seemed to add something to this bottle! IT was the right time to pop and pour this bottle, and was not over the top at all. Deep full flavor in the Chocolate and Cherry depth with plenty of spice as a reward on the nose. Really an amazing bottle of wine, and a great find.
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Drinking very nicely right now. A full bodied Aussie shiraz with some serious age under its belt. A little funkiness in the first glass but it seemed to blow off leaving a very enjoyable wine.
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This bested a bottle of Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz 1998 we had with this. Nice nose, with plums and a hint of brown sugar. A full bodied wine, with very tasty but still primary flavours of plums, pepper, slight gamy notes, and a hit of ripe tannins at the end. This still tastes young, but was nice now (A-)
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Opened at a private tasting - stored in Vinotemp since purchase from high end wine shop. Still quite young, huge fruit, aggresive tannins, shows great potential but wait at least 3-5 years with 10 not out of the question. Classic big Barossa Shiraz.
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Very forward fruit, this stiill needs additional cellar time. Great depth and structure, tight tannins but well supporting black fruits and plummy lushness, needed decanting and an hour to consume. Hold for 2-3 years further.
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St. Hallett Old Block Shiraz Vertical '94-'99 (My Apartment): A tough act to follow the '98. Yet this wine is just such an overachiever. I've been impressed by this wine each time I've tried it. It lacks a little of everything compared to the '98, but overall, this is a very good Old Block and a very nice Shiraz. Predictably youthful, but still drinking well right now. Blackberries and plums predominate. Good effort for '99.
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This is a beautiful black brooding Shiraz - One of my favourite wines from the Vancouver Wine Festival, I unfortunately bought only two. Decanted one hour, the nose was a little shy at first, but within 2 hours lovely complexity of black plum, tree bark and smoldering cedar plank smoke. The palate depicts black licorice, paprika spice and vanillin dark chocolate. The palate shows some serious drying tannins that over time seemed more aggressive rather than taming. At one point near the end of the bottle I had a real shiver run down my spine from the drying tannin attack on the finish. The rich blackberry fruits were long and unrepentant on the palate, sexy yet smart, this is wine with some attitude and class. Naturally opened too soon, but shared with a good friend in a celebration of a new job.
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Really very good. Maybe I need to reconsider 99s? This is as impressive as any recent vintage of this wine. Great poise and balance for an old vines Barossa Shiraz. But that is the house style for this icon. Never approaching overblown, sometimes even coy. This one is not so shy. A nice drink now and should age as well as its older siblings. A favorite of mine and a great value in this sometimes overheated market.
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4/25/2021 - mfahrmann Likes this wine: 91 Points
Terrific bottle of wine. Alas, the last I had...
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5/9/2019 - Darke Peak Likes this wine: 94 Points
Ullage into neck. Popped and poured, then drank over 2 hours. Wouldn’t really benefit from decanting. Deep colour hides its real age. Dusty oak and dark fruits. Initially the alcohol came across a touch hot. Great tannin structure. Still standing strong. Should be good drinking for another 2-5 years. Just as good or better than the famed ‘98 vintage. Partner it with a top quality steak on a cold night.
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8/4/2017 - redders Likes this wine: 91 Points
Colour still bright. Smoky fruit Shiraz good depth power still but elegance too. Lovely at this age
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1/3/2017 - empire80 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Awesome shiraz right at its peak. Rich blueberry and blackberry fruit, smooth and well integrated tannin, spicy liquorice, superb match with roast beef. Wish I had more!
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10/2/2016 - GeorgeSW wrote: 93 Points
Wow, silky tannins beautiful ripe fruit, dark , still life left.
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12/12/2015 - empire80 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Beautiful mature Oz shiraz. Amazing nose, followed by blueberries, blackberries, soft oaky tannin. A complete package with a rare steak!
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10/27/2013 - johnrm Likes this wine: 90 Points
Deep red colour, still, with only a trace of brown at rim. It opened and developed over 2+ hours. Excellent nose with good fruit, some spice and chocolate. Sweet dark fruit - cherries, mulberry fruit with chocolate. Soft integrated vanillic, leathery middle. Very long and smooth.
This was the last bottle from a case of 6 and, sadly, there was a very slight touch of TCA. Earlier bottles were rated at 93-95 - why did this affect the last bottle? - Murphy's law, I suppose.... Still a very good match with beef.
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9/8/2013 - empire80 wrote: 93 Points
Blackberry, dark fruit, blended with rich tannin and hint of chocolate. Superb at the right temperature but falls apart a bit above 20 degrees
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8/4/2013 - drunken sommelier Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dark ruby red in colour. Black currants, black fruit, baking spice and black pepper on the nose. Stewed blackberries, black pepper and alcohol on the palate. Will definitely hold up for at least another 2-3 years if not longer.
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11/13/2012 - Tsinclair wrote: 95 Points
One of the best Shiraz's we have ever drank.
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7/7/2012 - empire80 wrote: 92 Points
Powerful barossa Shiraz, black cherry, hints of chocolate and vanilla, sweet tannin. Very good now, but a few years ahead too.
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2/14/2010 - Tarrant wrote: 91 Points
What struck me about this was how much life is left in this, it really could be a 2007 or so based upon the colouring, the nose and amount of fruit, I would guess at least another 10 years based upon our tasting last evening, all the classic Barossa notes for sure - Black, full bodied with a nose of plum, black fruit, chocolate, spice, pepper and vanilla, nicely stuctured, well balanced with fine tannins and acidity, still young, smooth/sweet on the palate with great length, outstanding (91 Points).
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12/5/2009 - chbeaumont wrote: 91 Points
Blood red, starting to show age; restrained, verging on lithe, but the tell-tale Barossan chocolately-ness; vigorous, has drive but also a shrill feel; has finesse, very long, fruit starting to fade so safest to drink up soon.
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2/15/2009 - mpricher wrote: 92 Points
Really pretty Dark Red to purple Shiraz. Found this on the"last bottle" rack, and truly enjoyed the flavors. I was concerned that it may have sat in an open store for 4-5 yrs, but the bottle age really seemed to add something to this bottle! IT was the right time to pop and pour this bottle, and was not over the top at all. Deep full flavor in the Chocolate and Cherry depth with plenty of spice as a reward on the nose. Really an amazing bottle of wine, and a great find.
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1/18/2009 - rwgray wrote: 89 Points
Drinking very nicely right now. A full bodied Aussie shiraz with some serious age under its belt. A little funkiness in the first glass but it seemed to blow off leaving a very enjoyable wine.
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9/28/2008 - mouton45 wrote: 92 Points
Even better than the last bottle
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3/21/2008 - JohnSh wrote: 91 Points
This bested a bottle of Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz 1998 we had with this. Nice nose, with plums and a hint of brown sugar. A full bodied wine, with very tasty but still primary flavours of plums, pepper, slight gamy notes, and a hit of ripe tannins at the end. This still tastes young, but was nice now (A-)
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4/5/2007 - AdamJP wrote:
Prolonged length. No sediment. Good.
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8/1/2006 - Chidainey wrote: 90 Points
Opened at a private tasting - stored in Vinotemp since purchase from high end wine shop. Still quite young, huge fruit, aggresive tannins, shows great potential but wait at least 3-5 years with 10 not out of the question. Classic big Barossa Shiraz.
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5/17/2006 - Shiraziste wrote:
Very forward fruit, this stiill needs additional cellar time. Great depth and structure, tight tannins but well supporting black fruits and plummy lushness, needed decanting and an hour to consume.
Hold for 2-3 years further.
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4/14/2006 - AdamJP wrote:
Prolonged length. No sediment. Good.
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10/28/2005 - Evargsoc wrote: 92 Points
WS
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4/13/2005 - AdamJP wrote:
Very dark ruby colour, deep at the rim. Spicy, fruity and vanilla aromas. Plum, spices and vanilla on the palate. Prolonged length. No sediment. Good.
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12/11/2004 - Blair Curtis wrote: 92 Points
St. Hallett Old Block Shiraz Vertical '94-'99 (My Apartment): A tough act to follow the '98. Yet this wine is just such an overachiever. I've been impressed by this wine each time I've tried it. It lacks a little of everything compared to the '98, but overall, this is a very good Old Block and a very nice Shiraz. Predictably youthful, but still drinking well right now. Blackberries and plums predominate. Good effort for '99.
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11/10/2004 - Shiraziste wrote:
This is a beautiful black brooding Shiraz - One of my favourite wines from the Vancouver Wine Festival, I unfortunately bought only two. Decanted one hour, the nose was a little shy at first, but within 2 hours lovely complexity of black plum, tree bark and smoldering cedar plank smoke. The palate depicts black licorice, paprika spice and vanillin dark chocolate.
The palate shows some serious drying tannins that over time seemed more aggressive rather than taming. At one point near the end of the bottle I had a real shiver run down my spine from the drying tannin attack on the finish. The rich blackberry fruits were long and unrepentant on the palate, sexy yet smart, this is wine with some attitude and class.
Naturally opened too soon, but shared with a good friend in a celebration of a new job.
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3/20/2004 - AdamJP wrote:
Very dark ruby colour, medium at the rim. Fruity aromas, plum and chocolate on the palate. Prominent tannins. Prolonged length. No sediment. Good.
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3/19/2004 - Blair Curtis wrote: 93 Points
Really very good. Maybe I need to reconsider 99s? This is as impressive as any recent vintage of this wine. Great poise and balance for an old vines Barossa Shiraz. But that is the house style for this icon. Never approaching overblown, sometimes even coy. This one is not so shy. A nice drink now and should age as well as its older siblings. A favorite of mine and a great value in this sometimes overheated market.
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