Purchased at auction and unsure of provenance. Cork has swallowed a small amount, but overall in good shape. Dark colour. Powerful nose, alcohol hits and dark fruits. Quite heavy, even after all these years it’s full bodied and kicking like a mule. The tannins have softened a little. I quite like this, but not quite as enjoyable as some of the similar aged Brrokmans I’ve had.
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Pop and pour. Doesn't need to be decanted still good. Colour: still dark. Cork is still very good - wine seeps about half of the cork. Nose: very nicely perfumed - it's so good, jammy plum. Palate: medium rich body, silky tannin and plummy with some tannin structure with some bitter finish. Very nice! 👍 Best drinking now and can still go a few more years.
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Dark opaque garnet color, turning brown towards the edges. Crazily fruity and jammy with just some hints of garrigue and earthy notes. Low acidity ad soft tannins give this a very common impression. Some sweet extract and the overly fruity side are a bit too much imo.
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Massive jammy berry fruit, vanilla oak, camphor, spice. This is in the flamboyant South Australia style at its best if that's your thing. Has some supple tannins to give it structure and just enough acidity to ward off palate fatigue.
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Massive blackberry jam and cassis. Great balance for a wine this big, with some secondary complexity, earthy, with smoke and spice. Might improve a bit, but drinking great right now.
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Just wonderful, such a great example of the huge mid-2000s Aussie style but particularly well-built, and with some interesting complexities to boot.
Pungent nose of ripe, almost port-like blackcurrant, blueberry, little oak tones of cedar, cinnamon, coconut, and an unusual sort of higher-register brightness showing as a mix of cherry, smoked meats, some sort of rubbery quality- a previous commenter described forest floor, and although it's not so obvious as in say, a Burgundy, it's not far off. Feels close in quality and style to mid-2000s Torbreck Struie, maybe with a little more emphasis on the fruit rather than the oak.
Palate has plenty more of that blackcurrant, multifaceted oak and cherry cordials. There's a pinch of raisin character (holding it back from a higher score maybe), but also a surprising amount of tannins and even acidity, obviously not high levels of either anymore, but more than enough for it to feel still comfortably within it's drinking window. I wouldn't let it go a whole lot longer, nor set any aside for drinking on day 2, it'll fade too much. Loved every sip, a great testament to high-quality winemaking in a ripe, rich style (it's ripe and strong, but not cooked or jammy.)
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This was a well-preserved bottle. Decanted for 20 minutes and then started drinking. It reached peak after about a 1 hour decant. Wonderful Australian syrah. Some bricking. Fading dark fruit and vanilla on the nose, but more forest floor and toasty oak. The wine is smooth - tannic structure is still there, but clearly the wine has fully integrated. Complex, with secondaries predominant. Some blackberry jam remains, but spice is king: vanilla, cinnamon, black pepper, tobacco, and exotic spices for an American palate. A pleasure to drink.
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Great surprise, holding up really well. Lots of sub flavors beneath the ample traditional Syrah fruitiness, long finish..I'd say this is in the window, but has years left.
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Big, bold, bodacious, and bountiful. Kate, Nate, Janny and I all agreed this was BOTN, and it was up against top notch competition from all around the glob. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
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Brilliant! Decanted for 2 hours. Poured into Riedel. Dark purple color with indigo edges, strong body and massive legs. Alluring waves of enticing aromas from glass – dark berries, autumn spices, deep woods, fine chocolates, and licorice. On the palate, bevies of berries – blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and currants – enrobed in luxurious velvet textures. The finish lingers for well over a minute, first coating the tongue, then emerging with bright highlights on the mid-palate. I've said this before about Liandra, but it bears repetition: Luscious, lustrous, and lengthy. A triumph of fine winemaking.
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PnP, raisins and some clove(?), then chocolate on the nose. Also there is heat. Boysenberry, some blueberry, smoooooth also there is some heat. It stretches across the palette nicely. Finish fades nicely and quickly for the first 10-15 seconds, then comes back and lingers.
15 minutes in, the chocolate and clove have subsided and the nose is decidely jammy fruits, plus a bit of green stem. This is so blue fruited now, it could be Zin. It remains to be seen whether it comes back into balance.
Almost an hour in the fruit has become leaner, actually everything has. However like most 05's I've had its a voluptuous style, yet lacks the structure I really like. It's not unbalanced per se, just lacking something and I'm struggling to identify what that is.
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Drinking well. This is a really big wine, full of flavor, with plenty of fruit, but incredibly smooth. Lots of complexity. A really good example of finesse with a big full bodied wine.
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- Medium forming legs with a full body with a long finish - Cork had some slippage. May have had a bit of temperature along the way. Decanted for 45 mins. First sip was soooo smooth full berry and soft broad finish. Excellent.
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A really fine example of Aussie Shiraz that is drinking perfectly at the 9 year mark. Last of a 3-pack from WTSO this wine has not budged since I last had a bottle almost 2 years ago. As you pour it a deep impenetrable purple flows from the bottle. Rich red fruits hit the senses as you sniff. Mouth-coating but not too cloying. Paula guessed Two Hands Shiraz and really loved this bottle.
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Only two bottles evaluated, but both have been great. Based upon other reviews, I suspect there's a lot of bottle variation. However, we just drank this wine with a Caymus and Aeros and it was easily the best of the night. Absolutely wonderful.
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Similar profile to my 6/25/13 review: big black fruits and a long finish but it takes a good three hours with decanting and aeration for the vegetable aromas to blow off. Highly recommend opening and decanting in the morning.
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Deep dark eggplant, inky density; marv nose of crushed black and blue berries; medium bodied, lots of fruit, yet balanced well with enough acidity to keep it from being cloying. Firm, yet velvet tannin with just enough heat to punctuate the taste. Layered characteristics give the wine an enjoyable complexity. Nice, 30 second finish that begs for another sip.
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Deep dark eggplant, inky density; marv nose of crushed black and blue berries; medium bodied, lots of fruit, yet balanced well with enough acidity to keep it from being cloying. Firm, yet velvet tannin with just enough heat to punctuate the taste. Layered characteristics give the wine an enjoyable complexity. Nice, 30 second finish that begs for another sip.
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Once the vegetables blew off, I was left with the most delicious blackberry barbeque sauce to pair with my filet mignon. Showing off its high acid, it also went great with the Cambozola and figs I had for dessert. An elegant beast.
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2+ hour decant allowed this deep red Shiraz to strut its stuff, long legs & lingering finish for this smooth tasting raspberry/ blueberry sweet treat, very good qpr at $34/ btl
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Dark ruby color, subtle berry nose, full body taste with raspberry, currant and black berry; long lingering smooth touch to the pellet; outstanding for drinking now
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Much better than the previous bottle from 6 mths ago. No decant.. just 20 mins in the glass. Nose of dark berries, slight prune, leather and mint. Lush, full bodied and delicious, with minimal tannins and medium acidity. Plum, dark and red berries on the palate.. long finish. I tend to drink my wines without food, and this suits my fancy.
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Initial funk and aroma reminiscent of sour milk blew off quickly. Dark fruits and brush follow with dense flavor. Seems fairly open, but more development might still be possible. Good acidity carries a long finish.
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Lovely color, just starting to leather. Fruit is still rich, very concentrated, almost raisin. Definitely fleshy, not sharp like a Rhone, but there's a lot of flavors to make this interesting. No hurry on these, seems like could get more interesting for 2-3 yrs.
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A nose of bold dark fruits and spice, dark purple in color. A full bodied controlled fruit bomb, with candied plum, kirsch, blackberry, blueberry, layers of fruit and spice with a long finish. A delicious wine.
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Big body, rich syrah. Needs about one to two hours for full spectrum of this wonderful wine. Went well with steak. Blueberries, tobacco , dried cherries, plum, and mild anise. Probably last another five years.
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What a difference a little decanting makes! The nose, which seemed closed last bottle, was a wonderful expression of grilled meat and smoke. Then the palate is an explosion of blackberry, plum, and vanilla mixed with tobacco and tar. Great depth and length, clearly fully mature but best with an hour to air out.
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Deep purple, medium to full body. Intense, seductive aroma of blackberry, raspberry, smoke and chocolate. Gobs of fruit on the palate, with a heady vanilla undertone. Full-bodied yet balanced. Really good.
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Just what you would expect from CH. opaque black/blue. Expressive sweet berry on the nose, huge extraction, sweet expressive kirsch and blackberry palate, long finish with obvious oak. First glass is Real good, but tough to drink more.
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Big, round, supple yet not over the top. Blueberry/blackberry compote on the nose with just a bit of bacon and wet slate; slides right into a load of blueberry jam - front to back but not over-the-top, rather velvety and long in the finish. Just enough acidity to bring everything together.
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Black-purple in the glass. Gave 3 to 4 hours in the decanter. Head scratcher of a nose with animal funk (duck meat?), wet stones and graphite, spices, slight leather, and the blackest of berries. The palate layers wild flowers atop the entire nose exploding. Full and luscious in the mouth. The wine seems never ending on the finish. Altogether satisfying and a joy.
Just as the previous reviewer, we picked up 3 on WTSO (the end of the night blessing of an offer after a long and somewhat "eh" feeling cheapskate Wednesday), and wish we'd bought several more. Ahh.. so much wine, so much time. :-)
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Glad I jumped on this one with WTSO! Clarendon Hills has been a producer I have seen in reviews but never had a chance to purchase. This was just good juice in a real good drinking window right now thanks to some distributor holding this until close out on the Web. The review by chateuanonsme hit the nail on the head, you just want one more sip as it never turns too sweet or cloying. Glad I bought 3 wish I bought 12!
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My last bottle. Sorry to see this end. As prior notes have said. Just when it feels like it will cam over into a fruit bomb, it stops and just coats your mouth and ends with you wanting another sip.
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The best Aussie Syrah I have had in recent memory. Smooth approach in the mouth with dark berry and some smoke mid palate. Mouth coating, but in a good way. Not over powering. Wish I had more than one left.
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I was concerned after the mediocre bottle in July. But this one hit a home run. This was a deep, glass staining purple wine -- Dark and delicious. Bouquet of dark berries, cherries, forest floor and woods. One hour decant. Close to being a fruit-bomb but what separates this wine is its balance and integration of tannins with the fruit. Excellent, layered and complex syrah. Long lingering finish keeps it delicious afterward. (Doris 94. Huge nose of cherries and other fruits. A three-ring circus and explosion of flavors on the palate. Loved it)
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So delicious! I had this last night with porchetta and it went so well together! Dark Jammy fruit a bit of tar, but the fruit is upfront with this Syrah from 100+ year old vines. You are definitely getting a wine that is an experience when you drink it. Outstanding!
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[Apparently this bottle was off. See my notes in August]. Nose of sweet fruit, bramble bush, floral, almonds. Concentrated and intense flavors of dark fruits, almonds, floral. Mouth filling tannins were heavy, unbalanced. Concerned this might be getting old ore perhaps bad provenance at some point? Acidity was heavy. (Doris did not like, too tannic. Steve felt this was over the hill. 80)
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I see how this got big scores. Its totally Shiraz, textbook. Blackfruit, fruit bomb, vanilla but its got nothing else. ITs not elegant, nothing defining expect fruit. IF you like textbook shiraz you'll go bananas, if you like elegant. This isn't it, but its great it what is.
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NC Cindy tasting. Visually indistiguishable from the Samuel's Gorge which preceded it, on the nose this was simpler with primary blackberry and vanilla and nothing else at all. On the palate, this was very sweet and fruit-forward and if anything more textbook Aussie fruit-bomb than the Samuel's Gorge. The tannin was there, but not obtrusive and very smooth and silky. This wine was sugary and very high on the deliciousness scale. It was a little less high on the complexity scale, though. There's nothing wrong with this textbook Aussie syrah, so I'll give it an excellent rating, but in the $40 price range, it could have given a little more depth. In other words, Viking60 is spot on.
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This was my first drink of Clarendon Hills, and man am I a believer!! This was no Auzzie fruit bomb, but an extremely smooth and well drawn Syrah. Color was jeweled blood red, dark with some light passing. The nose was magical, with florals and fruits, and maybe even some almond? Just beguiling on the palate, changing from fruit to meat, to nutty flavors in a smooth procession. Just could not believe how easy this wine was to consume. Really complex and enjoyable, and paired perfect with the wifes Chocolate molten lava cake, and Vanilla ice cream!!! Oh My!!!!
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Decanted for 4 hours. The most complex, layered Aussy syrah I've drank since the '90 Grange. Blackberry & blueberry syrups with tobacco and fine, new leather. The silky smooth finish went on for what seemed like several minutes, with a nice jellied, sweet pepper note. Can easily be cellared for the next 10-15 years. Outstanding 'baby' Astralis!
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4/9/2022 - jayw Likes this wine:
Massive blueberry pie, oak, smoke, and some garrigue. Fully body with barely noticeable tannins.
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8/21/2021 - mrwineface wrote: 90 Points
Purchased at auction and unsure of provenance. Cork has swallowed a small amount, but overall in good shape. Dark colour. Powerful nose, alcohol hits and dark fruits. Quite heavy, even after all these years it’s full bodied and kicking like a mule. The tannins have softened a little. I quite like this, but not quite as enjoyable as some of the similar aged Brrokmans I’ve had.
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6/19/2021 - WineHors wrote:
nice jammy shiraz. drink up now.
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5/31/2021 - Grandin7 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Soft tannins. Not highly structured. Blackberry, slight jam. Earthy. Not a long finish. Thought it would be more. At its peak.
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4/11/2021 - WineHors Likes this wine:
Pop and pour. Doesn't need to be decanted still good.
Colour: still dark. Cork is still very good - wine seeps about half of the cork.
Nose: very nicely perfumed - it's so good, jammy plum.
Palate: medium rich body, silky tannin and plummy with some tannin structure with some bitter finish. Very nice! 👍
Best drinking now and can still go a few more years.
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2/17/2021 - afot wrote:
Dark opaque garnet color, turning brown towards the edges. Crazily fruity and jammy with just some hints of garrigue and earthy notes. Low acidity ad soft tannins give this a very common impression. Some sweet extract and the overly fruity side are a bit too much imo.
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2/14/2021 - jayw Likes this wine:
Massive jammy berry fruit, vanilla oak, camphor, spice. This is in the flamboyant South Australia style at its best if that's your thing. Has some supple tannins to give it structure and just enough acidity to ward off palate fatigue.
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12/25/2020 - Dmjmd wrote: 90 Points
Thank you Cruz and figs. Dried fruits prevail. Soft supple tannins. Drink now has very little aging required going forward
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8/18/2020 - jayw Likes this wine:
Massive blackberry jam and cassis. Great balance for a wine this big, with some secondary complexity, earthy, with smoke and spice. Might improve a bit, but drinking great right now.
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7/19/2020 - sid_loves_wine Likes this wine: 95 Points
Just wonderful, such a great example of the huge mid-2000s Aussie style but particularly well-built, and with some interesting complexities to boot.
Pungent nose of ripe, almost port-like blackcurrant, blueberry, little oak tones of cedar, cinnamon, coconut, and an unusual sort of higher-register brightness showing as a mix of cherry, smoked meats, some sort of rubbery quality- a previous commenter described forest floor, and although it's not so obvious as in say, a Burgundy, it's not far off. Feels close in quality and style to mid-2000s Torbreck Struie, maybe with a little more emphasis on the fruit rather than the oak.
Palate has plenty more of that blackcurrant, multifaceted oak and cherry cordials. There's a pinch of raisin character (holding it back from a higher score maybe), but also a surprising amount of tannins and even acidity, obviously not high levels of either anymore, but more than enough for it to feel still comfortably within it's drinking window. I wouldn't let it go a whole lot longer, nor set any aside for drinking on day 2, it'll fade too much. Loved every sip, a great testament to high-quality winemaking in a ripe, rich style (it's ripe and strong, but not cooked or jammy.)
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11/17/2019 - CabinConnoisseur Likes this wine: 93 Points
This was a well-preserved bottle. Decanted for 20 minutes and then started drinking. It reached peak after about a 1 hour decant. Wonderful Australian syrah. Some bricking. Fading dark fruit and vanilla on the nose, but more forest floor and toasty oak. The wine is smooth - tannic structure is still there, but clearly the wine has fully integrated. Complex, with secondaries predominant. Some blackberry jam remains, but spice is king: vanilla, cinnamon, black pepper, tobacco, and exotic spices for an American palate. A pleasure to drink.
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6/4/2019 - subguy87 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Excellent!
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4/20/2019 - ephorn Likes this wine: 93 Points
Newworldnosewithbrownsugarandtamarind. Palate still lively and energetic. Well balanced. The medicinal flavors take this down a notch for me.
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12/31/2018 - wino121 wrote: 94 Points
Not sure it can get any better, slight bricking, massive fruit to oak.
If anything just a bit past peak.
Drink now-2022
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11/15/2017 - Jakubd01 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Great fruit and tannins mellowed to create wine ok for drinking without food. Awesome structure
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6/17/2017 - jackaroo wrote: 96 Points
Uncorked for two hours. Chilled to mid sixties fahrenheit. Perfect drinking window where everything has come together. Wow factor.
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4/23/2017 - JGinMO wrote: 92 Points
Great surprise, holding up really well. Lots of sub flavors beneath the ample traditional Syrah fruitiness, long finish..I'd say this is in the window, but has years left.
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3/19/2017 - gipsy123 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted 90 min. Very good. Consistent with previous notes.
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2/7/2017 - gipsy123 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Consistent with previous notes. Very very good wine.
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12/26/2016 - Bowmanifesto wrote: 94 Points
Big, bold, bodacious, and bountiful. Kate, Nate, Janny and I all agreed this was BOTN, and it was up against top notch competition from all around the glob. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
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1/23/2016 - Jakubd01 Likes this wine: 95 Points
About perfect now. Tannins mellowed. Fruit perfect. Really enjoyable
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12/17/2015 - Bowmanifesto wrote: 95 Points
Brilliant! Decanted for 2 hours. Poured into Riedel. Dark purple color with indigo edges, strong body and massive legs. Alluring waves of enticing aromas from glass – dark berries, autumn spices, deep woods, fine chocolates, and licorice. On the palate, bevies of berries – blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and currants – enrobed in luxurious velvet textures. The finish lingers for well over a minute, first coating the tongue, then emerging with bright highlights on the mid-palate. I've said this before about Liandra, but it bears repetition: Luscious, lustrous, and lengthy. A triumph of fine winemaking.
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11/2/2015 - 1961Vintage Likes this wine: 95 Points
Similar to previous notes. Simply spectacular!
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10/3/2015 - Barnaby33 wrote:
PnP, raisins and some clove(?), then chocolate on the nose. Also there is heat. Boysenberry, some blueberry, smoooooth also there is some heat. It stretches across the palette nicely. Finish fades nicely and quickly for the first 10-15 seconds, then comes back and lingers.
15 minutes in, the chocolate and clove have subsided and the nose is decidely jammy fruits, plus a bit of green stem. This is so blue fruited now, it could be Zin. It remains to be seen whether it comes back into balance.
Almost an hour in the fruit has become leaner, actually everything has. However like most 05's I've had its a voluptuous style, yet lacks the structure I really like. It's not unbalanced per se, just lacking something and I'm struggling to identify what that is.
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8/26/2015 - Bowmanifesto wrote: 93 Points
Big hit with our family at the Beacon. Luscious, lustrous, and lengthy.
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4/19/2015 - Jettoy1992 wrote: 95 Points
Still as good as July decanted for 1hr 15 mins this time. Truly great...
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3/2/2015 - WineScoundrel wrote: 93 Points
Ditto smithto's TN.
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12/24/2014 - smithto Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drinking well. This is a really big wine, full of flavor, with plenty of fruit, but incredibly smooth. Lots of complexity. A really good example of finesse with a big full bodied wine.
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8/23/2014 - 1961Vintage Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drank over 3 days. Liquid velvet with exceptional flavor layering.WOW!
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7/13/2014 - Jettoy1992 wrote: 95 Points
- Medium forming legs with a full body with a long finish - Cork had some slippage. May have had a bit of temperature along the way. Decanted for 45 mins. First sip was soooo smooth full berry and soft broad finish. Excellent.
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6/16/2014 - wino121 wrote: 93 Points
Massive, front to back, which is not surprising from this producer.
Mid-life right now, but has apexed.
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3/16/2014 - Arch57 Likes this wine: 93 Points
A really fine example of Aussie Shiraz that is drinking perfectly at the 9 year mark. Last of a 3-pack from WTSO this wine has not budged since I last had a bottle almost 2 years ago. As you pour it a deep impenetrable purple flows from the bottle. Rich red fruits hit the senses as you sniff. Mouth-coating but not too cloying. Paula guessed Two Hands Shiraz and really loved this bottle.
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1/27/2014 - Omadobs Likes this wine: 96 Points
Only two bottles evaluated, but both have been great. Based upon other reviews, I suspect there's a lot of bottle variation. However, we just drank this wine with a Caymus and Aeros and it was easily the best of the night. Absolutely wonderful.
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12/2/2013 - Pipcelot Likes this wine: 93 Points
Similar profile to my 6/25/13 review: big black fruits and a long finish but it takes a good three hours with decanting and aeration for the vegetable aromas to blow off. Highly recommend opening and decanting in the morning.
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11/13/2013 - corkscrews wrote: 94 Points
Similiar note, a great wine. www.winelx.com
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9/11/2013 - DTWOB Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep dark eggplant, inky density; marv nose of crushed black and blue berries; medium bodied, lots of fruit, yet balanced well with enough acidity to keep it from being cloying. Firm, yet velvet tannin with just enough heat to punctuate the taste. Layered characteristics give the wine an enjoyable complexity. Nice, 30 second finish that begs for another sip.
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9/7/2013 - DTWOB Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep dark eggplant, inky density; marv nose of crushed black and blue berries; medium bodied, lots of fruit, yet balanced well with enough acidity to keep it from being cloying. Firm, yet velvet tannin with just enough heat to punctuate the taste. Layered characteristics give the wine an enjoyable complexity. Nice, 30 second finish that begs for another sip.
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8/22/2013 - Watchster wrote: 92 Points
Nose of plum, black currant, hint of eucalyptus, with well integrated tannins and a very long finish.
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8/22/2013 - Watchster wrote: 91 Points
Typical Aussie syrah- black currant, plum, eucalyptus - tannins are well integrated and the finish goes on.
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6/17/2013 - Watchster wrote: 94 Points
Very nice complex layers, thick and velvety feel and a long lasting finish. Glad to have a couple more bottles of this.
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6/5/2013 - Pipcelot Likes this wine: 94 Points
Once the vegetables blew off, I was left with the most delicious blackberry barbeque sauce to pair with my filet mignon. Showing off its high acid, it also went great with the Cambozola and figs I had for dessert. An elegant beast.
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5/19/2013 - gesusser wrote: 93 Points
2+ hour decant allowed this deep red Shiraz to strut its stuff, long legs & lingering finish for this smooth tasting raspberry/ blueberry sweet treat, very good qpr at $34/ btl
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5/9/2013 - WDK wrote: 88 Points
Paque purple. Nose of blabkberry pie. Palate has good fruit, but an aftertase of corn. Not nearly as good as the Hickenbotham.
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5/4/2013 - THF49 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dark ruby color, subtle berry nose, full body taste with raspberry, currant and black berry; long lingering smooth touch to the pellet; outstanding for drinking now
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5/3/2013 - danielbleier wrote: flawed
cooked or some other flaw attached...stewed prunes are about all I got
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3/26/2013 - burgbob wrote: 90 Points
Big, well balanced Aussie Shiraz. Good depth and structure, not quite singing.
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3/9/2013 - Zbear Likes this wine: 93 Points
Much better than the previous bottle from 6 mths ago. No decant.. just 20 mins in the glass. Nose of dark berries, slight prune, leather and mint. Lush, full bodied and delicious, with minimal tannins and medium acidity. Plum, dark and red berries on the palate.. long finish. I tend to drink my wines without food, and this suits my fancy.
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2/9/2013 - Iceman611 wrote: 95 Points
One of the best syrah wines I've tasted. Even better than I remembered.
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1/14/2013 - burgbob wrote: 92 Points
Initial funk and aroma reminiscent of sour milk blew off quickly. Dark fruits and brush follow with dense flavor. Seems fairly open, but more development might still be possible. Good acidity carries a long finish.
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12/19/2012 - JGinMO wrote: 91 Points
Lovely color, just starting to leather. Fruit is still rich, very concentrated, almost raisin. Definitely fleshy, not sharp like a Rhone, but there's a lot of flavors to make this interesting. No hurry on these, seems like could get more interesting for 2-3 yrs.
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12/13/2012 - corkscrews Likes this wine: 92 Points
Similiar to last note, good stuff.
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12/9/2012 - Iceman611 wrote: 94 Points
At least as good as brookman. Deep flavors, balanced by more "zip" from acidity and tart fruit.
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12/7/2012 - mhays Likes this wine: 92 Points
very fruity.. Tastes of blackberry and currants with a nice level of spice.
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11/22/2012 - 1961Vintage wrote: 90 Points
Great turkey wine...and with all the trimmings..
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11/20/2012 - Ibotros wrote: 93 Points
Truly enjoyed full body, full flavor with forward fruits and a deep complex finish with hints of probably strawberry and plum
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11/17/2012 - corkscrews wrote: 93 Points
A nose of bold dark fruits and spice, dark purple in color. A full bodied controlled fruit bomb, with candied plum, kirsch, blackberry, blueberry, layers of fruit and spice with a long finish. A delicious wine.
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10/16/2012 - mrumilly wrote:
Excellent, accessible, full-bodied Aussie style wine.
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10/3/2012 - ravbik wrote: 93 Points
Big body, rich syrah. Needs about one to two hours for full spectrum of this wonderful wine. Went well with steak. Blueberries, tobacco , dried cherries, plum, and mild anise. Probably last another five years.
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9/17/2012 - burgbob wrote: 92 Points
Very nicely balanced Aussie Shiraz. Rich blu black berry fruit and long finish.
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9/15/2012 - smarquardt wrote: 89 Points
Muddy tasting. Heavy syrupy raisin taste. Was expecting much more based on all of the other reviews.
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7/25/2012 - danielbleier wrote: 94 Points
What a difference a little decanting makes! The nose, which seemed closed last bottle, was a wonderful expression of grilled meat and smoke. Then the palate is an explosion of blackberry, plum, and vanilla mixed with tobacco and tar. Great depth and length, clearly fully mature but best with an hour to air out.
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7/6/2012 - bubbachumps wrote: 92 Points
Consistent with my prior note.
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6/22/2012 - tenor12bucks Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep purple, medium to full body. Intense, seductive aroma of blackberry, raspberry, smoke and chocolate. Gobs of fruit on the palate, with a heady vanilla undertone. Full-bodied yet balanced. Really good.
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6/21/2012 - WDK wrote: 93 Points
Just what you would expect from CH. opaque black/blue. Expressive sweet berry on the nose, huge extraction, sweet expressive kirsch and blackberry palate, long finish with obvious oak. First glass is Real good, but tough to drink more.
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6/19/2012 - DanH wrote: 92 Points
Awesome, super dense, very hot and smoky at first (a lot of this blows off, so much better the second day). Really really good fruit.
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6/8/2012 - Arch57 wrote: 92 Points
Solid
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6/3/2012 - danielbleier wrote:
PnP, so no rating, but rich plum and berry, not much a nose to speak of...hoping for more time with the next bottle
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5/30/2012 - dekay wrote: 93 Points
Big, round, supple yet not over the top. Blueberry/blackberry compote on the nose with just a bit of bacon and wet slate; slides right into a load of blueberry jam - front to back but not over-the-top, rather velvety and long in the finish. Just enough acidity to bring everything together.
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5/30/2012 - bubbachumps wrote: 92 Points
Aging nicely for an Aussie! Vibrant and lively, with copious fruits and an opulent feel.
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5/25/2012 - noahbw Likes this wine: 92 Points
Black-purple in the glass. Gave 3 to 4 hours in the decanter. Head scratcher of a nose with animal funk (duck meat?), wet stones and graphite, spices, slight leather, and the blackest of berries. The palate layers wild flowers atop the entire nose exploding. Full and luscious in the mouth. The wine seems never ending on the finish. Altogether satisfying and a joy.
Just as the previous reviewer, we picked up 3 on WTSO (the end of the night blessing of an offer after a long and somewhat "eh" feeling cheapskate Wednesday), and wish we'd bought several more. Ahh.. so much wine, so much time. :-)
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5/23/2012 - Arch57 wrote: 94 Points
Glad I jumped on this one with WTSO! Clarendon Hills has been a producer I have seen in reviews but never had a chance to purchase. This was just good juice in a real good drinking window right now thanks to some distributor holding this until close out on the Web. The review by chateuanonsme hit the nail on the head, you just want one more sip as it never turns too sweet or cloying. Glad I bought 3 wish I bought 12!
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4/15/2012 - chateaunoname wrote: 92 Points
My last bottle. Sorry to see this end. As prior notes have said. Just when it feels like it will cam over into a fruit bomb, it stops and just coats your mouth and ends with you wanting another sip.
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1/28/2012 - chateaunoname wrote: 94 Points
The best Aussie Syrah I have had in recent memory. Smooth approach in the mouth with dark berry and some smoke mid palate. Mouth coating, but in a good way. Not over powering.
Wish I had more than one left.
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8/18/2011 - cliffkol wrote: 93 Points
I was concerned after the mediocre bottle in July. But this one hit a home run. This was a deep, glass staining purple wine -- Dark and delicious. Bouquet of dark berries, cherries, forest floor and woods. One hour decant. Close to being a fruit-bomb but what separates this wine is its balance and integration of tannins with the fruit. Excellent, layered and complex syrah. Long lingering finish keeps it delicious afterward. (Doris 94. Huge nose of cherries and other fruits. A three-ring circus and explosion of flavors on the palate. Loved it)
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7/24/2011 - Silveradoup wrote: 95 Points
So delicious! I had this last night with porchetta and it went so well together! Dark Jammy fruit a bit of tar, but the fruit is upfront with this Syrah from 100+ year old vines. You are definitely getting a wine that is an experience when you drink it. Outstanding!
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7/12/2011 - cliffkol wrote: 85 Points
[Apparently this bottle was off. See my notes in August]. Nose of sweet fruit, bramble bush, floral, almonds. Concentrated and intense flavors of dark fruits, almonds, floral. Mouth filling tannins were heavy, unbalanced. Concerned this might be getting old ore perhaps bad provenance at some point? Acidity was heavy. (Doris did not like, too tannic. Steve felt this was over the hill. 80)
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2/27/2011 - viking60 wrote: 90 Points
I see how this got big scores. Its totally Shiraz, textbook. Blackfruit, fruit bomb, vanilla but its got nothing else. ITs not elegant, nothing defining expect fruit. IF you like textbook shiraz you'll go bananas, if you like elegant. This isn't it, but its great it what is.
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2/26/2011 - Phredd wrote: 90 Points
NC Cindy tasting. Visually indistiguishable from the Samuel's Gorge which preceded it, on the nose this was simpler with primary blackberry and vanilla and nothing else at all. On the palate, this was very sweet and fruit-forward and if anything more textbook Aussie fruit-bomb than the Samuel's Gorge. The tannin was there, but not obtrusive and very smooth and silky. This wine was sugary and very high on the deliciousness scale. It was a little less high on the complexity scale, though. There's nothing wrong with this textbook Aussie syrah, so I'll give it an excellent rating, but in the $40 price range, it could have given a little more depth. In other words, Viking60 is spot on.
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12/26/2010 - mpricher wrote: 94 Points
This was my first drink of Clarendon Hills, and man am I a believer!! This was no Auzzie fruit bomb, but an extremely smooth and well drawn Syrah. Color was jeweled blood red, dark with some light passing. The nose was magical, with florals and fruits, and maybe even some almond? Just beguiling on the palate, changing from fruit to meat, to nutty flavors in a smooth procession. Just could not believe how easy this wine was to consume. Really complex and enjoyable, and paired perfect with the wifes Chocolate molten lava cake, and Vanilla ice cream!!! Oh My!!!!
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12/26/2010 - raydawgone wrote: 96 Points
Decanted for 4 hours. The most complex, layered Aussy syrah I've drank since the '90 Grange. Blackberry & blueberry syrups with tobacco and fine, new leather. The silky smooth finish went on for what seemed like several minutes, with a nice jellied, sweet pepper note. Can easily be cellared for the next 10-15 years. Outstanding 'baby' Astralis!
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9/12/2009 - Miceri wrote: 89 Points
A bit acid to begin with, but winning with time in the glass. Peppery, spicy. Not long aftertaste
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