Excellent wine. Deep red colour with dry dark berry fruit on the nose with some barnyardy earthy characters. Tar and bitumen on the palate with hints of cigar box. Long finish with some tannins still there and all in good balance.
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Fruity, but with a small taste of leather on the palate. Nicely aged, but still jammy, to a moderate degree. Worth the money (under $25). Excellent (87.5).
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Syrah/Shiraz tasting @ my place (Netherlands): Middle deep, some browning in the edge. Opening up with blueberries and blackberries, but also rosehip and pomegranate. The presence of neatly toasted oak is well tuned and balanced. Clearly recognisable as a Syrah, in the classic style of a cooler climate. Wonderful, rich and long this wine has magnificent focus and fine, fresh and lively acidity. A pinch of heat on the finish, though. Lovely stuff. Rhone? 18/20
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One year on from the last time I tasted this, I am very impressed indeed. For its relative youth, it's the best Australian red I have drunk since the III Associates Squid Ink a couple of years ago. Super colour and depth. Restrained but rich and welcoming nose of saddle leather and caramel. On the palate this is outstandingly balanced and harmonious with loads of sweet concentrated fruit counterpoised by just the right amount of new oak and without the usual over-predominance of acid I find in most Australian reds. Definitely enough structure to improve for the next 5 years, not sure about beyond that. Good length. Really very good indeed. Made from near-century-old vines from a single vineyard. Runny and I have an odyssey called "The Next Grange" to identify the very best of the relatively new top Australians and this definitely makes the cut.
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One of the distributors we have come to know poured this for us from under the table. Nearly opaque. Notes of dark fruit, plum, mint and meat. Deep dark fruit flavors, with mint and chewy tannins. Very nice.
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NobleRottersSydney - Blind Shiraz Options 2000-01-02 (Guillaume at Bennelong): Another extrovert nose; roasted grape aromas, tar, spice and a barnyardy tinge that just adds some interest all combine here. The palate is something of a contrast, being loose in structure, and tasting a little confected and coarse. A full throttle style of wine that shows somewhat more development than the nose indicates; there’s not a lot of complexity here so I would call this ready to drink. Filsell {cork, 14.5%, A$20} A pretty good save from a tricky vintage, but don’t wait too much longer before pulling the cork.
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Purchased a case of this after tasting it at the winery alongside the 1999 release and the 2000 came up trumps. Was very surprised at the time, due to 2000 being a pretty poor vintage in the Barossa across the board, but like any poor vintage there are gems to be found and this was certainly won of them! Decided to open a bottle to see how it is traveling. Not decantered and consumed over dinner while watching another enthralling episode of “24”. Deep red/purple colour. Nose was full of fruit, on the verge of being jammy, (but nothing like the PL Eight Songs we had last month) with a bit of oak in the background. Palate was again full of sweet black fruits, chocolate and spice … my wife picked this as a Barossa shiraz and it certainly showed it. Good balance and weigh and very glugable. The bottle “just” lasted the end of the episode. Will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but definitely a winner in this household. Probably will not get any better but definitely has a few good years ahead of it yet. JO says 2008-2012. I will probably have consumed all of mine by then!
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5/13/2015 - Croquet King Likes this wine: 93 Points
Excellent wine.
Deep red colour with dry dark berry fruit on the nose with some barnyardy earthy characters.
Tar and bitumen on the palate with hints of cigar box.
Long finish with some tannins still there and all in good balance.
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5/18/2013 - Annabk wrote: 79 Points
Interesting fruit, but past its best.
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11/21/2011 - Ombibulous wrote: 87 Points
Fruity, but with a small taste of leather on the palate. Nicely aged, but still jammy, to a moderate degree. Worth the money (under $25). Excellent (87.5).
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11/14/2009 - jkoenen wrote: 92 Points
Syrah/Shiraz tasting @ my place (Netherlands): Middle deep, some browning in the edge. Opening up with blueberries and blackberries, but also rosehip and pomegranate. The presence of neatly toasted oak is well tuned and balanced. Clearly recognisable as a Syrah, in the classic style of a cooler climate. Wonderful, rich and long this wine has magnificent focus and fine, fresh and lively acidity. A pinch of heat on the finish, though. Lovely stuff. Rhone? 18/20
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2/3/2007 - Goldstone wrote: 92 Points
One year on from the last time I tasted this, I am very impressed indeed. For its relative youth, it's the best Australian red I have drunk since the III Associates Squid Ink a couple of years ago. Super colour and depth. Restrained but rich and welcoming nose of saddle leather and caramel. On the palate this is outstandingly balanced and harmonious with loads of sweet concentrated fruit counterpoised by just the right amount of new oak and without the usual over-predominance of acid I find in most Australian reds. Definitely enough structure to improve for the next 5 years, not sure about beyond that. Good length. Really very good indeed. Made from near-century-old vines from a single vineyard. Runny and I have an odyssey called "The Next Grange" to identify the very best of the relatively new top Australians and this definitely makes the cut.
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11/20/2006 - JAlbert wrote: 92 Points
Deep, spicy and complex.
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10/28/2006 - AllRed wrote: 90 Points
One of the distributors we have come to know poured this for us from under the table. Nearly opaque. Notes of dark fruit, plum, mint and meat. Deep dark fruit flavors, with mint and chewy tannins. Very nice.
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4/3/2006 - graemeg wrote:
NobleRottersSydney - Blind Shiraz Options 2000-01-02 (Guillaume at Bennelong): Another extrovert nose; roasted grape aromas, tar, spice and a barnyardy tinge that just adds some interest all combine here. The palate is something of a contrast, being loose in structure, and tasting a little confected and coarse. A full throttle style of wine that shows somewhat more development than the nose indicates; there’s not a lot of complexity here so I would call this ready to drink. Filsell {cork, 14.5%, A$20} A pretty good save from a tricky vintage, but don’t wait too much longer before pulling the cork.
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11/3/2005 - sthugo wrote: 91 Points
Purchased a case of this after tasting it at the winery alongside the 1999 release and the 2000 came up trumps. Was very surprised at the time, due to 2000 being a pretty poor vintage in the Barossa across the board, but like any poor vintage there are gems to be found and this was certainly won of them! Decided to open a bottle to see how it is traveling. Not decantered and consumed over dinner while watching another enthralling episode of “24”. Deep red/purple colour. Nose was full of fruit, on the verge of being jammy, (but nothing like the PL Eight Songs we had last month) with a bit of oak in the background. Palate was again full of sweet black fruits, chocolate and spice … my wife picked this as a Barossa shiraz and it certainly showed it. Good balance and weigh and very glugable. The bottle “just” lasted the end of the episode. Will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but definitely a winner in this household. Probably will not get any better but definitely has a few good years ahead of it yet. JO says 2008-2012. I will probably have consumed all of mine by then!
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