After an hour decant this wine opened up to reveal more tertiary notes (coffee, soy, mushroom) and has retained some herbaceous characters (bay leaf, eucalyptus). The flavours are less pronounced than the aromas and the wine lacks concentration on the mid palate. The finish is a little underwhelming. Drink now. Vanessa Simpson @missvino.sydney
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NobleRottersSydney - Christmas Lunch 2017 (Geoffrey's place): {screwcap, 14%} I was surprised how relatively light this was, although I suppose that’s returning to Coonawarra’s history after the Robert-Parker-turbo-charged 1990s. At any rate, this is only mildly-oaked, with savoury, lightly curranty fruit flavours. There’s a vanilla twist to the flavour, but not too much. Just a little dark chocolate hints at a darker cabernet character. It’s just medium-bodied, but the tannins are low/medium in weight and doesn’t seem to have a lot to give. Best before it’s twenty I should think.
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Excellent, classy and elegant but also substantial and even powerful. 14% ALC. Seemingly ageless. Colour: blackberry, crimson edges still Bouquet: mint, cedar, black cassis and blackberry, blueberry, dried herbs, chocolate Palate: as bouquet, some white and black pepper, lovely texture and mouth feel, full bodied but very soft, fine grained tannins, long clean finish, incredibly balanced and totally in harmony, yet fresh characters too June 2017
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Coonawarra Roadshow (Ivy, George Street, Sydney): Dusty, slightly oxidised with red berry fruit, earth, leather, cream. On the palate it's dusty and leathery with red berry fruit, fine textured but still more than present tannins…the fruit persists but….but…hell's teeth, it's all out of whack. No balance. annoyingly jarring and discordant.
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I did not have great expectations of this wine, given that it not an amazing vintage. Perhaps this is one reason why I am quite enjoying it? Blueberry, blackberry and herbs on the nose as I poured it into decanter... smells great. In the glass the colour is dark with a ruby rim. It tastes ok... plenty of fruit still there. It has a lovely mature clarity about it, which I always enjoy. No bite and tannins fully integrated. Dries up a little I must admit. After 45 mins some nice savoury flavours too. Not a great vintage and certainly not as memorable as the '98 I downed a year or two ago, but pleasant all the same. Will it improve? we can only hope but I wouldn't put my cellar on it!
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Aromas of blackberries, mint and herbs, the palate starts well with flavours of blackberries and herbs and a fair whack of acid, however it is wound up very tight and then there is the mid-palate hole which is about the size of the Grand Canyon. Finishes with grippy/sappy, very drying fine tannins this is probably one vintage of St Hugo to take OFF your buying list. Hopefully this is not an indication of what we can expect now from this label due to the inclusion of "Jacobs Creek" on the label. Hopefully this is just a blip on the radar due to the weak vintage and 2003 will be a welcome return to form. Hopefully .....
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4/18/2023 - andrew.cameron Likes this wine: 85 Points
After an hour decant this wine opened up to reveal more tertiary notes (coffee, soy, mushroom) and has retained some herbaceous characters (bay leaf, eucalyptus). The flavours are less pronounced than the aromas and the wine lacks concentration on the mid palate. The finish is a little underwhelming. Drink now. Vanessa Simpson @missvino.sydney
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7/11/2021 - kiwi64 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Last bottle , def needs to be drunk. But a very enjoyable wine
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8/6/2020 - kiwi64 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Probably kept a little too long , that said still a lovely smooth wine which I really enjoyed.
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4/10/2020 - kiwi64 Likes this wine: 91 Points
good but needs to be drunk , probably peaked a few years back
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10/27/2019 - kiwi64 Likes this wine: 92 Points
this is my second bottle of the wine and I'm finding this way better than the first. possibly a little forward in the mouth but still has fruit.
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11/12/2017 - graemeg wrote:
NobleRottersSydney - Christmas Lunch 2017 (Geoffrey's place): {screwcap, 14%} I was surprised how relatively light this was, although I suppose that’s returning to Coonawarra’s history after the Robert-Parker-turbo-charged 1990s. At any rate, this is only mildly-oaked, with savoury, lightly curranty fruit flavours. There’s a vanilla twist to the flavour, but not too much. Just a little dark chocolate hints at a darker cabernet character. It’s just medium-bodied, but the tannins are low/medium in weight and doesn’t seem to have a lot to give. Best before it’s twenty I should think.
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6/16/2017 - rmarkey Likes this wine: 97 Points
Excellent, classy and elegant but also substantial and even powerful. 14% ALC. Seemingly ageless.
Colour: blackberry, crimson edges still
Bouquet: mint, cedar, black cassis and blackberry, blueberry, dried herbs, chocolate
Palate: as bouquet, some white and black pepper, lovely texture and mouth feel, full bodied but very soft, fine grained tannins, long clean finish, incredibly balanced and totally in harmony, yet fresh characters too
June 2017
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8/12/2016 - chatters wrote:
Coonawarra Roadshow (Ivy, George Street, Sydney): Dusty, slightly oxidised with red berry fruit, earth, leather, cream. On the palate it's dusty and leathery with red berry fruit, fine textured but still more than present tannins…the fruit persists but….but…hell's teeth, it's all out of whack. No balance. annoyingly jarring and discordant.
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7/25/2014 - Raki wrote: 89 Points
I did not have great expectations of this wine, given that it not an amazing vintage. Perhaps this is one reason why I am quite enjoying it? Blueberry, blackberry and herbs on the nose as I poured it into decanter... smells great. In the glass the colour is dark with a ruby rim. It tastes ok... plenty of fruit still there. It has a lovely mature clarity about it, which I always enjoy. No bite and tannins fully integrated. Dries up a little I must admit. After 45 mins some nice savoury flavours too. Not a great vintage and certainly not as memorable as the '98 I downed a year or two ago, but pleasant all the same. Will it improve? we can only hope but I wouldn't put my cellar on it!
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10/13/2011 - VinoHobo wrote: 96 Points
Floral and plenty of minty blackcurrant. Great palate. Complex and still lots of oak and fruit power
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2/5/2006 - sthugo wrote: 81 Points
Aromas of blackberries, mint and herbs, the palate starts well with flavours of blackberries and herbs and a fair whack of acid, however it is wound up very tight and then there is the mid-palate hole which is about the size of the Grand Canyon. Finishes with grippy/sappy, very drying fine tannins this is probably one vintage of St Hugo to take OFF your buying list. Hopefully this is not an indication of what we can expect now from this label due to the inclusion of "Jacobs Creek" on the label. Hopefully this is just a blip on the radar due to the weak vintage and 2003 will be a welcome return to form. Hopefully .....
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