The nose and palate: blackberry, plum, smoke, oak, chocolate/vanilla.
This is kind of a pleaser for the normal consumer. It's heavy, fat and fruity with dark berries. The finish is quite short and nothing is really going on after the sip.
It could have fooled me if I tasted this blind. Because it does remind me of a Italian Primitivo.
If you have company that isn't big wine drinkers, this would be great to serve at a christmas meal or as every-day wine. There is nothing special about it. But it's good enough. Maybe I could score this 1-2 points more if it didn't have the Primitivo feeling.
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Decanted. On the nose ripe brambles, blackberry, sweet spice and a little alcohol warmth. In the mouth it's juicy with black fruits, sweet spice, chalky tannins, a little plain chocolate and a touch of cream. Well made. Simple. Nice.
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Still good. Smooth, rich fruit tending to become very slightly 'jammy' after 4+ hours but a lovely, spicy Aussie Shiraz that gives plenty of pleasure, especially with food.
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Tasted again and it was quite an attractive example of Australian Shiraz but not a great one. I found the characteristics I described earlier but it did not impress as much as earlier vintages. It got better over 6+ hours but I think I'll hold my other bottles for a while and hope that it develops further. This wine usually takes time to show its best.
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I know the M&S label states that this is from Clare Valley fruit but why do we have two entries (Clare Valley is in S Australia, after all)? If there are two blends, one of pure Clare Valley fruit and one from a wider range of S.Oz vineyards, perhaps someone will explain and CT can clarify the entries. If it is the same wine, we should have a single entry for each year. Rich, sweet, mainly cherry fruit with soft vanilla oak, spice, good balance and a long finish. My wife said she found some astringency on the end palate but I (respectfully) disagreed. So drinkable and great with food (rare Sirloin steak).
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My previous note (Jan 2018) stands. Every bit as good as that first taste of this vintage (and as good as the 2013 vintage for me). A couple of bottles were opened in the morning for an afternoon event. Half a bottle was set aside and was even richer and more fragrant 36h after opening. Lovely wine. 90+
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Deep colour. Excellent fruit, spice, and vanilla on the fragrant nose. Blackcurrants, blueberries, dark cherries on the palate with hints of spice, mulberry and plum. Big and complex with vanilla, good acidity, and soft but structured tannins. Long and very smooth. This wine could be described as a 'crowd pleaser' because it incorporates so many attractive qualities but it is much more than that. It is pretty impressive for an 'entry level' Kilikanoon wine. Not super cheap in UK but good value. It is still young (the 2013 is still drinking very well) and it will be interesting to see how it develops over a few years. After 24h+ The wine still shows good fruit, spice and complexity. I'm sure it will develop further in bottle.
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7/3/2020 - tob100 wrote: 88 Points
The nose and palate:
blackberry, plum, smoke, oak, chocolate/vanilla.
This is kind of a pleaser for the normal consumer. It's heavy, fat and fruity with dark berries.
The finish is quite short and nothing is really going on after the sip.
It could have fooled me if I tasted this blind. Because it does remind me of a Italian Primitivo.
If you have company that isn't big wine drinkers, this would be great to serve at a christmas meal or as every-day wine. There is nothing special about it.
But it's good enough.
Maybe I could score this 1-2 points more if it didn't have the Primitivo feeling.
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5/26/2020 - chatters wrote:
Decanted. On the nose ripe brambles, blackberry, sweet spice and a little alcohol warmth. In the mouth it's juicy with black fruits, sweet spice, chalky tannins, a little plain chocolate and a touch of cream. Well made. Simple. Nice.
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5/11/2019 - johnrm Likes this wine: 89 Points
Still good. Smooth, rich fruit tending to become very slightly 'jammy' after 4+ hours but a lovely, spicy Aussie Shiraz that gives plenty of pleasure, especially with food.
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11/15/2018 - johnrm Likes this wine: 88 Points
Tasted again and it was quite an attractive example of Australian Shiraz but not a great one. I found the characteristics I described earlier but it did not impress as much as earlier vintages. It got better over 6+ hours but I think I'll hold my other bottles for a while and hope that it develops further. This wine usually takes time to show its best.
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10/20/2018 - johnrm Likes this wine: 89 Points
I know the M&S label states that this is from Clare Valley fruit but why do we have two entries (Clare Valley is in S Australia, after all)? If there are two blends, one of pure Clare Valley fruit and one from a wider range of S.Oz vineyards, perhaps someone will explain and CT can clarify the entries. If it is the same wine, we should have a single entry for each year.
Rich, sweet, mainly cherry fruit with soft vanilla oak, spice, good balance and a long finish. My wife said she found some astringency on the end palate but I (respectfully) disagreed. So drinkable and great with food (rare Sirloin steak).
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3/25/2018 - johnrm Likes this wine: 90 Points
My previous note (Jan 2018) stands. Every bit as good as that first taste of this vintage (and as good as the 2013 vintage for me).
A couple of bottles were opened in the morning for an afternoon event. Half a bottle was set aside and was even richer and more fragrant 36h after opening. Lovely wine. 90+
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1/11/2018 - johnrm Likes this wine: 91 Points
Deep colour. Excellent fruit, spice, and vanilla on the fragrant nose. Blackcurrants, blueberries, dark cherries on the palate with hints of spice, mulberry and plum. Big and complex with vanilla, good acidity, and soft but structured tannins. Long and very smooth.
This wine could be described as a 'crowd pleaser' because it incorporates so many attractive qualities but it is much more than that. It is pretty impressive for an 'entry level' Kilikanoon wine. Not super cheap in UK but good value.
It is still young (the 2013 is still drinking very well) and it will be interesting to see how it develops over a few years.
After 24h+ The wine still shows good fruit, spice and complexity. I'm sure it will develop further in bottle.
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12/9/2017 - fcxj wrote: 84 Points
Airplane wine.
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