Absolutely fabulous! Still lots of fruit flavours on the palate and no amber edging in the gkass. Tile red colour, very bright. Still a few years left with this one. Magic pairing with grilled Moroccan spiced spatchcock.
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Bewitching nose of leather, cocoa, cinnamon and sandalwood.
Full mouthfeel, with a magnificent touch, it is velvety, with sweet aromas of liquorice on the attack. Then the juice increases in power and complexity, with intense flavors of menthol, leather and black fruits. It is intense but always with a beautiful freshness, which allows the wine to be at the same time sapid, complex and of a rare density. The silky texture is a treat. Great minty finish on warm spices with great length.
An excellent Shiraz, picked at full maturity and which proves that these wines can age harmoniously. Its texture, above all, is a pure delight.
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Deep red/purple colour in the decanter without any visible signs of age, and an earthiness to the bouquet. Beautifully silky smooth in the mouth, with a medium/full weight and great length. The wine is well balanced and drinking beautifully, still at its peak.
Opened with a Durand and decanted using a Venturi for two hours before drinking.
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Leathery, spicy, menthol aromas, black cherry and liquorice.
Full and pretty silky palate, lots of complex quality liquorice notes, excellent acidity and lift. Pockets of concentration of ripe dark berries, layers of soft liquorice and leather. Resolved tannins. nicely balanced and good energy.
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Superb medium body texture with a glorious mouth feel. Sublime purity of fruit, dark and some red, plenty of spice on the finish. Bought at Scenic Cellars Taupo NZ, waited 15 years to drink and now feel very well rewarded.
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Leather, sandalwood, cinnamon, chocolate and warm spice - so distinctive that once you’ve stuck your nose in this you can’t mistake it for anything else! Rich, dark and round in the mouth with not much acidity and yet it is gorgeous and moorish in the manner that some classic aged Australian Shiraz can get when it’s flavour profile has been dialled to 110% and it’s been given 20 years to come together. It’s not subtle but if you like your wine full bodied and full throttle then this will bowl you over and you won’t be able to stop sniffing it. Infinitely better than when it was young, well cellared bottles will bring plenty of enjoyment for up to the next 5 years - from the first glass to the last. It’s a unique experience to try this wine and I highly recommend you jump on it if you happen to come across some in your travels. 94 Points
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Reading the recent tasting notes here I shouldn't have been surprised by how good this was but it really showed wonderfully. Purple coloring; licorice and eucalyptus nose; just a hint of leather on the palate to show its almost 20 years old; opulent mouthfeel. This would have been the star of the holidays if not for the 2006 RWT that followed it. This probably has another 5-10 years in front of it for those looking to hold.
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Opened a well cellared bottle and found it absolutely stunning! Loads of fruit with liquorice and eucalyptus notes. Still drinking very well and this bottle could have gone another 5 years easily.
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Best showing to date, this is like a top Bordeaux, but with a bit more round ripe fruit. The nose has rich plum and menthol, full in the mouth with dense fruit. Delicious.
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Mature Aussie syrah/shiraz with tons of bacon, spice, and dried fruit and lovely sweet and pruney berries. Good balance, smooth tannins, and great mouthfeel. This won't get better!
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Almost black colour slight brick rim with good quality cork. Cola, blackberry, chocolate and mint nose. Big mouthfeel with soft tannin, plenty of fruit and long finish. Some raisin, Christmas cake flavours. Long. Delicious.
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Martin's Birthday Dinner aka Shiraz Night (Sixty 40, Rochester Mall, Singapore): This was such a great wine - it reminded me of exactly why I used to drink so much Aussie Shiraz in bygone years. Opened some 5 hours before pouring, it reaced out of the glass with a wonderful nose of dark chocolate and warm spice, blackberries and plums, with a dusting of mocha notes on the sides. Really lovely. The palate was surprisingly generous and giving for a 2001, very forward. Served blind, we all guessed that it was a Shiraz from the mid-90s. Whatever the case though, it seemed to be quite at peak, with a little dusting of powdery tannins that were just starting to soften knit together with delicious flavours of sweet black cherries and plums and some savoury black olives sprinkled with warmly fragrant notes of cocoa and spice. There were lovely proportions on the wine; it was actually quite powerful and muscular, with quite a bit of depth to it, but it still always very focused and impeccably balance - a very whole, very complete package. Great finish too, with a lovely trail of dried herbs, menthol and eucalyptus, with just that whiff of crushed ants that is so symptomatic of old Aussie Shiraz. Beautiful stuff - I absolutely loved this.
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Tannins had softened nicely but still needed some air before this wine really came into its own. Fruit is nicely integrated with more oak than i typically notice in a Shiraz. Well incorporated through. Tobacco notes with dark fruit flavors. I'd say this is as good as it is going to get - might have even been a touch better a year of two ago. Still, reminds me of a nice Hermitage.
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Brought this to a dinner and a 2003 Amon Ra from our cellar for dinner with friends. Both decanted at the table. This showed a great nose of blackberry, black cherry, desert dustiness, tobacco, and spice, Great structure. Excellent with a grilled beef filet. We had the same vintage Armagh last year, with a similar profile. An excellant mature Shiraz. Never overpowering. The Armagh was my WOTN by a slight margin.
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Brought to a restaurant from our cellar for dinner with friends that love Oz wines, where it was decanted at the table. An excellant mature Shiraz. Still dark red. Balanced nose of blackberry, licorice, spice. Just the right amount of mature fruit to balance the acid and compliment the grilled steaks. Finish went on and on, yet never overpowering. Our friends gave it a higher score.
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A full and complex wine that avoids being brash and over-the-top. Its pedigree is instantly recognisable. A beautiful boquet of floral caramel and cinnamon. Lovely balanced plum flavours that twist and turn alternately with the menthol and oak. Smooth silky tannins and mouth feel. Medium long acidic finish beautifully rounds out the wine. A winner. I am filling up my cellar as fast as I with this but disturbingly rare red. Australia's best shiraz.
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P&P into the decanter, steal a glass. A beautiful opaque that one can only get without extraction. Dusty look. Fruit wats from the glass. Sweet blueberry, cassis, menthol, vanilla, herby thing, green olives? Weighty on the palate, whoa, big thick expanding fruit wave, then fills out, cleaned up withe a bright acid attack, tannins just there at the moment, nice middle palate lingering finish. Bright blue fruits hanging on. This is goona be killer.
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Tasted blind. Lots of vanilla and oak on the nose. Underneath this was a core of red fruit. In the mouth, all I could taste was sweet fruit which was pleasant but not overly complex. The finish was nice with more fruit. It was interesting but I wouldn't keep drinking.
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Big, black, bold wine but not over the top. Tons of blackberry aromas with a touch of mint and black pepper. On the palate, creamy blackberries and blueberries with a great balance of acidity and tannins. Decanted for 2 hours, probably could have gone longer.
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Deep, opaque color...open, decanted, bottled and put in fridge overnight...super nose of eucalypt, sweet dense fruit, rich nose...killer texture, deep and rich, but fairly balanced for a wine of this size. The finish last for 45+ seconds.
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1/13/2024 - kimcot Likes this wine: 92 Points
Absolutely fabulous!
Still lots of fruit flavours on the palate and no amber edging in the gkass.
Tile red colour, very bright.
Still a few years left with this one.
Magic pairing with grilled Moroccan spiced spatchcock.
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11/13/2023 - Benoit Hardy Likes this wine: 94 Points
Bewitching nose of leather, cocoa, cinnamon and sandalwood.
Full mouthfeel, with a magnificent touch, it is velvety, with sweet aromas of liquorice on the attack. Then the juice increases in power and complexity, with intense flavors of menthol, leather and black fruits. It is intense but always with a beautiful freshness, which allows the wine to be at the same time sapid, complex and of a rare density. The silky texture is a treat. Great minty finish on warm spices with great length.
An excellent Shiraz, picked at full maturity and which proves that these wines can age harmoniously. Its texture, above all, is a pure delight.
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10/15/2023 - Cumberland wrote: 95 Points
Deep red/purple colour in the decanter without any visible signs of age, and an earthiness to the bouquet. Beautifully silky smooth in the mouth, with a medium/full weight and great length. The wine is well balanced and drinking beautifully, still at its peak.
Opened with a Durand and decanted using a Venturi for two hours before drinking.
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12/2/2022 - Shrewsram wrote: 93 Points
Leathery, spicy, menthol aromas, black cherry and liquorice.
Full and pretty silky palate, lots of complex quality liquorice notes, excellent acidity and lift. Pockets of concentration of ripe dark berries, layers of soft liquorice and leather. Resolved tannins.
nicely balanced and good energy.
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1/25/2022 - peter.mancell@mfg.com.au Likes this wine: 96 Points
Superb medium body texture with a glorious mouth feel.
Sublime purity of fruit, dark and some red, plenty of spice on the finish.
Bought at Scenic Cellars Taupo NZ, waited 15 years to drink and now feel very well rewarded.
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5/29/2021 - Kekib wrote:
Stunning! Drank with the Hogbens
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2/20/2021 - Paco55 wrote: 94 Points
Leather, sandalwood, cinnamon, chocolate and warm spice - so distinctive that once you’ve stuck your nose in this you can’t mistake it for anything else! Rich, dark and round in the mouth with not much acidity and yet it is gorgeous and moorish in the manner that some classic aged Australian Shiraz can get when it’s flavour profile has been dialled to 110% and it’s been given 20 years to come together. It’s not subtle but if you like your wine full bodied and full throttle then this will bowl you over and you won’t be able to stop sniffing it. Infinitely better than when it was young, well cellared bottles will bring plenty of enjoyment for up to the next 5 years - from the first glass to the last. It’s a unique experience to try this wine and I highly recommend you jump on it if you happen to come across some in your travels. 94 Points
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12/24/2019 - mp6283 Likes this wine:
Reading the recent tasting notes here I shouldn't have been surprised by how good this was but it really showed wonderfully. Purple coloring; licorice and eucalyptus nose; just a hint of leather on the palate to show its almost 20 years old; opulent mouthfeel. This would have been the star of the holidays if not for the 2006 RWT that followed it. This probably has another 5-10 years in front of it for those looking to hold.
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12/24/2018 - jmoon Likes this wine: 95 Points
Really textured and lush and sophisticated flavours... so much better than a young Armagh.
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11/2/2018 - Psammoma Body Likes this wine: 98 Points
Opened a well cellared bottle and found it absolutely stunning! Loads of fruit with liquorice and eucalyptus notes. Still drinking very well and this bottle could have gone another 5 years easily.
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4/28/2018 - Alex G. Likes this wine:
Best showing to date, this is like a top Bordeaux, but with a bit more round ripe fruit. The nose has rich plum and menthol, full in the mouth with dense fruit. Delicious.
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1/21/2018 - parinacota Likes this wine: 92 Points
Beautifully aged Aussi Shiraz, silky tannins, still big body and very fragrant (spices, dried dark fruit, raisins). Drink now.
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1/10/2018 - passion4wine wrote: 91 Points
Mature Aussie syrah/shiraz with tons of bacon, spice, and dried fruit and lovely sweet and pruney berries. Good balance, smooth tannins, and great mouthfeel. This won't get better!
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9/1/2017 - G_H wrote: 93 Points
Great mature auzzie Shiraz, rich, warm, sweet. Kind of Chrsitmasy if that makes any sense. Perfect now, don't wait too long
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7/24/2017 - Wall_Bangers Likes this wine: 94 Points
Almost black colour slight brick rim with good quality cork.
Cola, blackberry, chocolate and mint nose. Big mouthfeel with soft tannin, plenty of fruit and long finish. Some raisin, Christmas cake flavours. Long. Delicious.
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10/25/2014 - Dave Herzig Likes this wine: 94 Points
Oaky plums on the noise and palate with a smooth rounded finish
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8/3/2014 - tplskylrk wrote:
Still nice, drinking just fine. Bit of raisin day II
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6/21/2014 - Hazevedo wrote: 94 Points
- Brick color. It's balanced with a full body. Flabby texture with a long finish.
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6/21/2014 - Hazevedo wrote: 94 Points
- Brick color. It's somewhat balanced with a full body. Linear texture with a long finish.
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1/20/2014 - Alex H wrote: 88 Points
Black licourice and dark chocolate scented black satsuma plums. Has juicy sweet fruits but really balanced for what it is.
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1/18/2014 - Paul S wrote: 94 Points
Martin's Birthday Dinner aka Shiraz Night (Sixty 40, Rochester Mall, Singapore): This was such a great wine - it reminded me of exactly why I used to drink so much Aussie Shiraz in bygone years. Opened some 5 hours before pouring, it reaced out of the glass with a wonderful nose of dark chocolate and warm spice, blackberries and plums, with a dusting of mocha notes on the sides. Really lovely. The palate was surprisingly generous and giving for a 2001, very forward. Served blind, we all guessed that it was a Shiraz from the mid-90s. Whatever the case though, it seemed to be quite at peak, with a little dusting of powdery tannins that were just starting to soften knit together with delicious flavours of sweet black cherries and plums and some savoury black olives sprinkled with warmly fragrant notes of cocoa and spice. There were lovely proportions on the wine; it was actually quite powerful and muscular, with quite a bit of depth to it, but it still always very focused and impeccably balance - a very whole, very complete package. Great finish too, with a lovely trail of dried herbs, menthol and eucalyptus, with just that whiff of crushed ants that is so symptomatic of old Aussie Shiraz. Beautiful stuff - I absolutely loved this.
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8/3/2013 - psusfca Likes this wine: 93 Points
Tannins had softened nicely but still needed some air before this wine really came into its own. Fruit is nicely integrated with more oak than i typically notice in a Shiraz. Well incorporated through. Tobacco notes with dark fruit flavors. I'd say this is as good as it is going to get - might have even been a touch better a year of two ago. Still, reminds me of a nice Hermitage.
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6/29/2013 - RR47 wrote: 95 Points
Brought this to a dinner and a 2003 Amon Ra from our cellar for dinner with friends. Both decanted at the table. This showed a great nose of blackberry, black cherry, desert dustiness, tobacco, and spice, Great structure. Excellent with a grilled beef filet. We had the same vintage Armagh last year, with a similar profile. An excellant mature Shiraz. Never overpowering. The Armagh was my WOTN by a slight margin.
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10/11/2012 - RR47 wrote: 96 Points
Brought to a restaurant from our cellar for dinner with friends that love Oz wines, where it was decanted at the table. An excellant mature Shiraz. Still dark red. Balanced nose of blackberry, licorice, spice. Just the right amount of mature fruit to balance the acid and compliment the grilled steaks. Finish went on and on, yet never overpowering. Our friends gave it a higher score.
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2/10/2012 - barryjkeller@gmail.com wrote:
First bottle great. Second bottle had quite distracting powdery tannins or something else - couldnt quite pin point. Found it quite average.
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2/4/2012 - Locki Likes this wine: 97 Points
A full and complex wine that avoids being brash and over-the-top. Its pedigree is instantly recognisable. A beautiful boquet of floral caramel and cinnamon. Lovely balanced plum flavours that twist and turn alternately with the menthol and oak. Smooth silky tannins and mouth feel. Medium long acidic finish beautifully rounds out the wine. A winner. I am filling up my cellar as fast as I with this but disturbingly rare red. Australia's best shiraz.
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6/17/2011 - tplskylrk wrote:
P&P into the decanter, steal a glass. A beautiful opaque that one can only get without extraction. Dusty look. Fruit wats from the glass. Sweet blueberry, cassis, menthol, vanilla, herby thing, green olives? Weighty on the palate, whoa, big thick expanding fruit wave, then fills out, cleaned up withe a bright acid attack, tannins just there at the moment, nice middle palate lingering finish. Bright blue fruits hanging on. This is goona be killer.
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3/18/2009 - Alex G. wrote:
Quite young, more backward/giving less than Grange at present. Great promise but I wouldn't touch this again for at the very least 5 years.
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10/8/2007 - Retil wrote: 91 Points
Dark almost viscousy. Plums on the nose, rich with a long finish. Drank with Nic and Zvi 8.10.07
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5/26/2006 - shine wrote: 91 Points
Tasted blind. Lots of vanilla and oak on the nose. Underneath this was a core of red fruit. In the mouth, all I could taste was sweet fruit which was pleasant but not overly complex. The finish was nice with more fruit. It was interesting but I wouldn't keep drinking.
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12/31/2005 - jjclips2 wrote: 97 Points
Big, black, bold wine but not over the top. Tons of blackberry aromas with a touch of mint and black pepper. On the palate, creamy blackberries and blueberries with a great balance of acidity and tannins. Decanted for 2 hours, probably could have gone longer.
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11/23/2005 - portside wrote: 96 Points
Drank with Dad. Absolutely wonderful!
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7/29/2005 - CO CHRIS wrote:
Deep, opaque color...open, decanted, bottled and put in fridge overnight...super nose of eucalypt, sweet dense fruit, rich nose...killer texture, deep and rich, but fairly balanced for a wine of this size. The finish last for 45+ seconds.
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