Gone. Absolutely nothing there. Floral aromas but no tannins, acidity, or flavor, well maybe a faint faint hint of cherries. Rating based on bottle would be 87 but since this is aged beyond, not including in score.
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Well on a warm NJ night we had a social distanced dinner with my son and his girlfriend. So I went down into the crawl space and looked through my bottles of one offs I keep a couple of cases where I put the last bottle of a half case of a case and forget about them for a while and this was one of those wines. It was right before Xmas in 2011 that I last tried a bottle. This wine is passing the test of time. Dark fruit on the nose. The color was very dark with a palate of dark berries and milk chocolate. The finish was moderate to long and very smooth. Very enjoyable and drinking well above its price point.
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I have 2 notes of this wine from 2012. Though I detect similar characteristics in this recent bottle, I can't score it 91 as before. Not bad, just.... un-harmonious.
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Good dark fruit, non-sweet nose and similar flavours. Good body, slight leather and black pepper notes. Fine tannins but with slightly chalky finish. Decanted, no food pairing. Possibly passed best.
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WAY PAST due. This one was probably OK a year ago, but not tonight. Gave it about 2 hours of air and it went even further downhill. Started off with a hint of black fruit, but had a menthol, funky mushroom and raisin note, and locker room type characteristics. No bueno.
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Ample refreshing acidity and drying tannins. But the fruit is complex, intense, mouth filling, and delicious. An utterly convincing testimony for how outstandingly Australian wines capture and express fruit. As terrific as the wine is now, the wine remains drinkable anytime, including years more, with zero sign of any deterioration - screwcaps forever!
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PnP at Hundred Acres NYC. Initially, fruit forward mature fruit not overly ripe, mostly black fruit. The wine continued to open up and settle more to a more old world GSM. Granted, it was distinctively Australian, but it had plenty of character and a bit of elegance to think thhis was old world. Can't imagine it could inmrpove. Vey enjoyable with a grilled pork chop.
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I think this is improving over time. Great drinking window right now. Lots of fruit, but very balanced and enjoyable. Probably a crowd pleaser as well.
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Plum color with brownish red on the edges. Initially minty and sweet aromas that turn into toasty oak, cherries plum and coffee. Velvety texture with very interesting flavors of dark fruits, grilled meat, tobacco leaf and cocoa powder. The finish is long and juicy. Outstanding!
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Slightly tart and acidic on opening, but smoothed out with air and time. Really nice wine, but forgot to take detailed notes. But we sure did finish it off quickly!
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PnP. Drinking really well and is similar to my previous tn. Some heat at the end, but its all good as it is really smooth on the way down. Really good stuff here.
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I don't know what was going on with this one, but it was extremely tart, very acidic. Not like the first bottle at all. This one I kept for a little while longer than the first. I hope the third and final one still has the gusto.
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ScNPour, served non-blind. Next to the 2005 Prado Enea, this was sleek, structured, young and very well made (the PE being so very open-knit and open for business). Sadly, this is my last one, and I say sadly, because this has not hit its peak yet. Very fresh acids, well-lifted and a clean, pleasing finish with some blackberry and coffee on the back end. A really well-made wine, that should hit peak in another 12-18 months. 14,5% abv is very well integrated, as are the fine-grained, sweet tannins. recommended, thru 2018
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Juicy rich blackberry with some herbaceousness, with good acidity and a touch of salinity, quite tasty. Smooth medium strength tannins. Not overdone at all. Not exactly complex, but combines generous richness with real sensitivity and finesse. I enjoyed this.
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Nice nose, cool, subtle. Full bodied, with mouth-coating integrated tannins give rise to flavors of black fruit, mocha coffee and sour plum, with a slightly warm, medium length finish. Some noticeable alcohol. Unmistakably new world. Eh....
Fortunately the world did not end today - would have been a shame if this was the last wine I tasted before the end of the world!
*Update: Had half a bottle and woke up the next morning feeling sluggish / slightly hungover - the effects of the 14.5% alcohol? -1 from my point rating
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Based on the favorable reviews on CT I'm guessing this bottle did not have great provenance. The nose was nice, spicy, fruity and earthy. But on the palate there was excessive heat, alcohol, acidity. This distracted from what seemed like a nice Aussie Rhone blend. Even after 90 minutes the heat was very distracting. We have two more bottles and will see what they bring when we open them.
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in US and got this wine from my storage place in NJ. probably I used a tea cup for drinking. nose is not very impressive. some fruit, but not that strong at all. Body is typical ones...medium... will try later with better glass. (0 views)
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Unscrewed and let breathe in bottle for 2 hours. In retrospect, I should have aerated to decanter for 90 minutes as that is when this began to really, truly unfold. Complex beyond it price-point with no shortage of purity or balance. recommended, 14,5% abv, drink thru 2019
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I decided to crack one of these to see if my last bottle was just a bit off or if I needed to get after drinking these becaause they were going down hill. Much to my delight one of my favorites was back and much better than the last bottle. The red fruits were were full and flavorfull along with nice hint of spice on the finish. This bottle still has plenty of time left in it as it continued to get better throughout the night. Drink now through 2016
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Perfume of strawberry jam and popcorn very attractive and very new world, medium+ body, silky tanin, does not like many australian counterparts whose bodies are too thick to enjoy. Worth a try, but drink within 3~4 year for the 07 vintage.
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Enjoyable like the last time. Relatively long finish, good flavor profile, nice fruit. Medium to full-bodiied. Good acidity. Overall a good value as well.
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This is normally a quality bottle of juice that I love to go to when having a nice dinner with the family. I believe this may be changing a bit as it wasn't as full of the rasberry fruit I previously noted. This is still a quality bottle with nice acidity and lively fruit it just didn't quite live up to my previous bottle. Enjoy over the next 2 years!
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Quality stuff. Charcoal, cured meats, and blueberry on the nose. Complex flavors of meat, berries, and herbs. Balanced with a good pairing of fresh acidity.
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Over an hour in the decanter. Nice ruby red in colour. Black cherries, kirsch, some raspberries, and a floral component on the nose. Light to medium body with a nice finish filled with sweet spiced red fruits and smooth tannins. Very very nice.
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GSM blend - enjoyed with my father and wife. I am a big fan of grenache / mourvedre and this wine had both with a flavor of syrah. The GM was most apparent in the nose with an almost pungent smell - the Syrah added a jammy fruity and blackberry taste. Needed to open up but blossomed after 20 min.
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Cloudy ruby red. Spicy and hot nose. Plums, spice, and cured meats on the medium weight palate, hot disjointed finish. Hopefully this pulls together with some time. Im not familiar with australian s. rhone blends, but im very familiar with s. rhones and this is suprisingly recognizable as one. EDIT: on day 2 the heat was still present, but it has toned down and the components more harmonious. Give this at least another year.
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First of the wine club tasting - nice floral nose, on the palate berries and fruits with a touch of milk chocolate nice finish- decanted for one hour prior to serving.
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By far one of the best wines I've had in 2011. I can't comment on the cork since this was a screw cap. I felt like I had been had....until I poured the wine. This wine pours a purple into a decanter. Excellent structure on the pour - felt like I was pouring some velvety syrup into a decanter and the bouquet of spice, oak, herbs?, flowers?....everything....hit as it went into the decanter. 30 minutes later this wine is ready to GO. On the taste is dried fruits, some mild spice, prune, licorice?, and some tannic structure that is very strong without food, but quite delicate with food. Velvety finish made me want MORE. I will buy another 3 cases of this and age it for 5 years....and still not spend as much as 2 bottles of Penfolds Grange with a scarily finish parallel. The creator of Penfolds Grange has done it again...on a big budget.
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A very nice wine. Has a nose of distinct olive, black fruit and spice with a sense of a high alcohol wine. Gladly, no heat on the palate, but somewhat restrained black fruits, with an herbal streak that carries through a long finish. Very much enjoyed.
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A pleasant surprise from this GSM blend. Some maturity in the lightish colour. Powerful and clean southern Rhone nose. Palat e is refined and savoury with fine tannins, yet a lovely and gentle lick of sweetness too. No threat of being alcoholic fruit juice. Lovely balance from 14.5%abv that doesn't show at all. Really light on it's feet. It's a lot like a good young chateauneuf though with less complexity and interest at this stage. Overall, a real success and the bottle disappeared quickly.
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Lots of potential here. Not as good as the '05 at the '10 mark. It would be interesting to lay my left over bottle for another year to drink next year at the 5 year mark. If drinking now, this wine benefits of a 1-hour decant or aretion at a minimum, a bit light on the body and the wine is a bit disjointed, but enjoyable nonetheless, great bouquet of cherries and some sweet spices. medium body.
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I tasted the same as BillyT's 3/5 notes- but I wasn't a fan. Not a bad wine and maybe not ready to drink yet. To much bright cherries and inky pruney/raisins. Drank over 2 hours.
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Nice, inky shiraz. Full bodied, big dark berry nose, slight raisin/prune, little spice. I've had better efforts from JDW. Albeit this wine is outstanding, I actually prefer other vintages.
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Tart and disjointed at first, but it integrates impressively after a couple of hours. I get kirsch, blackberry, raisin, and especially a heavy-duty dose of herb (ahem, Mary Jane). Lively acidity. This is always a solid QPR bottling, especially because the GSM aspect gives it a leg-up in the complexity department over a straight-up Shiraz.
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Pop and pour. Get ready for the prunes! VERY pruny finish and really was soooo dominant I missed everything else. Having said that it was a bad taste just overwhelming. 10 minutes to gather myself. Beautiful dark purple color to a rust rim, Big bold legs, nose of oak and vanilla almost reminiscent of a cali cab, dark fruit, mocha, leather, beef, initial mouth feel full bodied with bright cherries and spice on the tip of the tongue, mid palate still capturing even more spice but smooth subtle tannins, great dark fruit, to a still spicy reasonably tannic finish and the prunes have balanced out with the other fruit. Drinking very Rhone/CdP ish. Lovely wine. Duval is one of the Aussie winemakers who do Rhone/CdP style very well and this is no exception. (91-92)
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Yummy, drinking very well, has balanced out since the last one I had. Was very much a pop and drop, deserved a bit more respect and a visit to a decanter.
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Drinking nicely. Some purple fruits upfront leading into beautiful spice leather notes mid pallet. Bottle has been opened for 2+ hours still some acidity and tannin on the back pallet suggesting the wine will continue to cellar well.
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Classic Aussie GSM - big jammy fruit with spice on the mid palet. Medium finish. Will hold the rest for at least a year or two longer. Very tight upon opening - I think this one has excellent potential
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Black in color. Raspberry and charred oak on the nose. Tastes of blackberry, boysenberry, and leather. Earthy mid palate and finish with some noticeable alcohol. Very full bodied. Tart acidity. Huge oak backbone. Slightly green.
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Decanted for one hour.On the nose medium dark and red fruit/berries and some floral notes.Rather smooth and primary palate with nice fruit likewise the nose and a slightly peppery finish.Vibrant and smooth tannic grip.This is well balanced and actually elegant for an aussie wine.Not a fruit bomb that I expected.Got clearly better with further airing in the glass so give it a looong decant.
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Ripe, strong nose. Grenache evident. Not hot despite ripeness and alcohol - balanced by decent acidity. Chocolatey notes. Very lush and mouth filling. Intense fruit and good length. Tannins already round. Drinking very well young.
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6/10/2022 - Tym4wine wrote:
Gone. Absolutely nothing there. Floral aromas but no tannins, acidity, or flavor, well maybe a faint faint hint of cherries. Rating based on bottle would be 87 but since this is aged beyond, not including in score.
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5/15/2020 - markcic Likes this wine: 91 Points
Well on a warm NJ night we had a social distanced dinner with my son and his girlfriend. So I went down into the crawl space and looked through my bottles of one offs I keep a couple of cases where I put the last bottle of a half case of a case and forget about them for a while and this was one of those wines. It was right before Xmas in 2011 that I last tried a bottle. This wine is passing the test of time. Dark fruit on the nose. The color was very dark with a palate of dark berries and milk chocolate. The finish was moderate to long and very smooth. Very enjoyable and drinking well above its price point.
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5/15/2020 - Racer117 wrote:
I have 2 notes of this wine from 2012. Though I detect similar characteristics in this recent bottle, I can't score it 91 as before. Not bad, just.... un-harmonious.
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12/11/2019 - robferguson1 wrote: 91 Points
Tasty and very lively and plenty of time to go.
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12/21/2018 - jlouderb wrote: 94 Points
awesome wine
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12/24/2017 - CJ-Priddis wrote: 93 Points
We both loved it
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5/2/2017 - justinevans Likes this wine: 88 Points
Good dark fruit, non-sweet nose and similar flavours. Good body, slight leather and black pepper notes. Fine tannins but with slightly chalky finish. Decanted, no food pairing. Possibly passed best.
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4/15/2017 - hebill wrote:
Really enjoyed at release but unfortunately well past peak now. Disappointing.
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1/19/2017 - dontime wrote:
Still singing for us. Solid 91-92.
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10/10/2016 - johnnyo wrote: 91 Points
Amazing QPR on a value Shiraz from a great winemaker! Lovely mouth feel, texture and finish.
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4/2/2016 - mflesh wrote: flawed
WAY PAST due. This one was probably OK a year ago, but not tonight. Gave it about 2 hours of air and it went even further downhill. Started off with a hint of black fruit, but had a menthol, funky mushroom and raisin note, and locker room type characteristics. No bueno.
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5/25/2015 - KJD45$ Likes this wine: 92 Points
Excellent as
As usual
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4/17/2015 - Mossrose wrote: 93 Points
Ample refreshing acidity and drying tannins. But the fruit is complex, intense, mouth filling, and delicious. An utterly convincing testimony for how outstandingly Australian wines capture and express fruit. As terrific as the wine is now, the wine remains drinkable anytime, including years more, with zero sign of any deterioration - screwcaps forever!
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4/11/2015 - athurst Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark fruits. Smooth finish. The tannins are silky and muted. At its peak.
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12/15/2014 - Koconnor wrote:
Fruit forward, black raspberries.
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8/21/2014 - vinomex wrote: 92 Points
PnP at Hundred Acres NYC. Initially, fruit forward mature fruit not overly ripe, mostly black fruit. The wine continued to open up and settle more to a more old world GSM. Granted, it was distinctively Australian, but it had plenty of character and a bit of elegance to think thhis was old world. Can't imagine it could inmrpove. Vey enjoyable with a grilled pork chop.
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8/20/2014 - soyhead wrote:
Nose - porty, sweet blackberry, spicey per Erica
Mouth - spiced dark fruit , cassis, creme de cassis. Nice.
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6/5/2014 - Joegish Likes this wine: 92 Points
I think this is improving over time. Great drinking window right now. Lots of fruit, but very balanced and enjoyable. Probably a crowd pleaser as well.
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4/28/2014 - handymom wrote: 91 Points
Drinking beautifully!
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11/20/2013 - Rojo Likes this wine: 92 Points
Plum color with brownish red on the edges. Initially minty and sweet aromas that turn into toasty oak, cherries plum and coffee. Velvety texture with very interesting flavors of dark fruits, grilled meat, tobacco leaf and cocoa powder. The finish is long and juicy. Outstanding!
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10/9/2013 - Quarked wrote: 91 Points
Slightly tart and acidic on opening, but smoothed out with air and time. Really nice wine, but forgot to take detailed notes. But we sure did finish it off quickly!
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7/23/2013 - AMC Eagle wrote: 93 Points
PnP. Drinking really well and is similar to my previous tn. Some heat at the end, but its all good as it is really smooth on the way down. Really good stuff here.
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7/18/2013 - mflesh wrote: flawed
I don't know what was going on with this one, but it was extremely tart, very acidic. Not like the first bottle at all. This one I kept for a little while longer than the first. I hope the third and final one still has the gusto.
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7/10/2013 - sgatti1 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Earth and spice aromas. Tart blackberries, medium tannins, but a little too acidic. Enjoy the 2004 much more.
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6/12/2013 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:
ScNPour, served non-blind. Next to the 2005 Prado Enea, this was sleek, structured, young and very well made (the PE being so very open-knit and open for business). Sadly, this is my last one, and I say sadly, because this has not hit its peak yet. Very fresh acids, well-lifted and a clean, pleasing finish with some blackberry and coffee on the back end. A really well-made wine, that should hit peak in another 12-18 months. 14,5% abv is very well integrated, as are the fine-grained, sweet tannins. recommended, thru 2018
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3/7/2013 - Beerzebub Likes this wine:
Juicy rich blackberry with some herbaceousness, with good acidity and a touch of salinity, quite tasty. Smooth medium strength tannins. Not overdone at all. Not exactly complex, but combines generous richness with real sensitivity and finesse. I enjoyed this.
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12/28/2012 - wraven82 Likes this wine: 89 Points
1.5hr decanting. Opened up really well. Very smooth on the palate. Not a lot of aroma on the nose but worked nicely with beef.
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12/21/2012 - jchua123 wrote: 87 Points
Nice nose, cool, subtle. Full bodied, with mouth-coating integrated tannins give rise to flavors of black fruit, mocha coffee and sour plum, with a slightly warm, medium length finish. Some noticeable alcohol. Unmistakably new world. Eh....
Fortunately the world did not end today - would have been a shame if this was the last wine I tasted before the end of the world!
*Update: Had half a bottle and woke up the next morning feeling sluggish / slightly hungover - the effects of the 14.5% alcohol? -1 from my point rating
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12/20/2012 - Racer117 Likes this wine: 91 Points
With a few of the San Diego Usual Suspects at Prep Kitchen in Del Mar. Smart SD-Wineaux wanted to hedge against the unlikely end of the world.
Very good again. High toned savory nose. This is breakfast wine! Blueberry and bacon flavors along with unripe orange acidity.
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12/5/2012 - cliffkol wrote: 87 Points
Based on the favorable reviews on CT I'm guessing this bottle did not have great provenance. The nose was nice, spicy, fruity and earthy. But on the palate there was excessive heat, alcohol, acidity. This distracted from what seemed like a nice Aussie Rhone blend. Even after 90 minutes the heat was very distracting. We have two more bottles and will see what they bring when we open them.
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10/14/2012 - wdlohr wrote: 92 Points
This has a dark red color with aromas of mushrooms and rich dirt. It features a long finish of dark chocolate and is very earthy. Well done.
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10/5/2012 - AngelicWines wrote: 91 Points
Lovely.
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9/10/2012 - nick811 wrote: 89 Points
in US and got this wine from my storage place in NJ. probably I used a tea cup for drinking. nose is not very impressive. some fruit, but not that strong at all. Body is typical ones...medium... will try later with better glass. (0 views)
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9/3/2012 - Adeshram wrote: 90 Points
Screwtop bottle, smooth start with a sweet finish. Good standard ever day bottle
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7/9/2012 - Bon and Nate wrote:
With Justine and Pete. We loved this wine. Spicy yet smooth. Spicy flavors, balanced tannins, delicious!
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6/22/2012 - Tim Heaton wrote:
Unscrewed and let breathe in bottle for 2 hours. In retrospect, I should have aerated to decanter for 90 minutes as that is when this began to really, truly unfold. Complex beyond it price-point with no shortage of purity or balance. recommended, 14,5% abv, drink thru 2019
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6/20/2012 - NEwino wrote: 92 Points
I decided to crack one of these to see if my last bottle was just a bit off or if I needed to get after drinking these becaause they were going down hill. Much to my delight one of my favorites was back and much better than the last bottle. The red fruits were were full and flavorfull along with nice hint of spice on the finish. This bottle still has plenty of time left in it as it continued to get better throughout the night. Drink now through 2016
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5/10/2012 - Adeshram wrote: 89 Points
Took a while to open. Needs a couple years. Decent red with a little bite at the end
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3/25/2012 - NingChen wrote: 90 Points
Perfume of strawberry jam and popcorn very attractive and very new world, medium+ body, silky tanin, does not like many australian counterparts whose bodies are too thick to enjoy. Worth a try, but drink within 3~4 year for the 07 vintage.
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3/3/2012 - skklam@hotmail.com wrote: 93 Points
Quite good wine, when opened, a fruity black cherries smell came out. The wine is quite balanced and only need 15-20 min breathing before cowumption.
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2/22/2012 - kenthargis wrote: 88 Points
Enjoyable like the last time. Relatively long finish, good flavor profile, nice fruit. Medium to full-bodiied. Good acidity. Overall a good value as well.
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2/19/2012 - sipnwine Likes this wine: 91 Points
Really enjoyed this wine, I would purchase it again.
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2/15/2012 - NEwino Likes this wine: 89 Points
This is normally a quality bottle of juice that I love to go to when having a nice dinner with the family. I believe this may be changing a bit as it wasn't as full of the rasberry fruit I previously noted. This is still a quality bottle with nice acidity and lively fruit it just didn't quite live up to my previous bottle. Enjoy over the next 2 years!
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1/28/2012 - Racer117 wrote: 91 Points
Quality stuff. Charcoal, cured meats, and blueberry on the nose. Complex flavors of meat, berries, and herbs. Balanced with a good pairing of fresh acidity.
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1/26/2012 - AMC Eagle wrote: 93 Points
Over an hour in the decanter. Nice ruby red in colour. Black cherries, kirsch, some raspberries, and a floral component on the nose. Light to medium body with a nice finish filled with sweet spiced red fruits and smooth tannins. Very very nice.
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1/1/2012 - dlstrauss wrote: 87 Points
Disappointed based upon reviews. Too jammy.
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12/13/2011 - therealdrizzle wrote: 90 Points
GSM blend - enjoyed with my father and wife. I am a big fan of grenache / mourvedre and this wine had both with a flavor of syrah. The GM was most apparent in the nose with an almost pungent smell - the Syrah added a jammy fruity and blackberry taste. Needed to open up but blossomed after 20 min.
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12/10/2011 - bullmrkt wrote: 88 Points
Cloudy ruby red. Spicy and hot nose. Plums, spice, and cured meats on the medium weight palate, hot disjointed finish. Hopefully this pulls together with some time. Im not familiar with australian s. rhone blends, but im very familiar with s. rhones and this is suprisingly recognizable as one. EDIT: on day 2 the heat was still present, but it has toned down and the components more harmonious. Give this at least another year.
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12/2/2011 - tourproto wrote: 90 Points
A little closed/tight at first. After an hour it opened up nicely. Very fruit forward with a lush feel. Medium-long finish.
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11/10/2011 - jeremyzolk wrote:
Consistent with previous notes
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11/2/2011 - markcic wrote: 88 Points
First of the wine club tasting - nice floral nose, on the palate berries and fruits with a touch of milk chocolate nice finish- decanted for one hour prior to serving.
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9/27/2011 - mflesh wrote: 94 Points
By far one of the best wines I've had in 2011. I can't comment on the cork since this was a screw cap. I felt like I had been had....until I poured the wine. This wine pours a purple into a decanter. Excellent structure on the pour - felt like I was pouring some velvety syrup into a decanter and the bouquet of spice, oak, herbs?, flowers?....everything....hit as it went into the decanter. 30 minutes later this wine is ready to GO. On the taste is dried fruits, some mild spice, prune, licorice?, and some tannic structure that is very strong without food, but quite delicate with food. Velvety finish made me want MORE. I will buy another 3 cases of this and age it for 5 years....and still not spend as much as 2 bottles of Penfolds Grange with a scarily finish parallel. The creator of Penfolds Grange has done it again...on a big budget.
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9/23/2011 - Nutty08 wrote: 91 Points
A very nice wine. Has a nose of distinct olive, black fruit and spice with a sense of a high alcohol wine. Gladly, no heat on the palate, but somewhat restrained black fruits, with an herbal streak that carries through a long finish. Very much enjoyed.
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8/29/2011 - king-bing wrote: 92 Points
A pleasant surprise from this GSM blend. Some maturity in the lightish colour. Powerful and clean southern Rhone nose. Palat e is refined and savoury with fine tannins, yet a lovely and gentle lick of sweetness too. No threat of being alcoholic fruit juice. Lovely balance from 14.5%abv that doesn't show at all. Really light on it's feet. It's a lot like a good young chateauneuf though with less complexity and interest at this stage. Overall, a real success and the bottle disappeared quickly.
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8/23/2011 - Elgroppo wrote: 90 Points
Couldn't agree more. VERY tight at opening, but opened quickly! 1 hour after decanting this wine really presents itself nicely!
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8/20/2011 - vinomex wrote: 89 Points
Lots of potential here. Not as good as the '05 at the '10 mark. It would be interesting to lay my left over bottle for another year to drink next year at the 5 year mark. If drinking now, this wine benefits of a 1-hour decant or aretion at a minimum, a bit light on the body and the wine is a bit disjointed, but enjoyable nonetheless, great bouquet of cherries and some sweet spices. medium body.
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7/7/2011 - VinoPKM wrote: 87 Points
I tasted the same as BillyT's 3/5 notes- but I wasn't a fan. Not a bad wine and maybe not ready to drink yet. To much bright cherries and inky pruney/raisins. Drank over 2 hours.
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7/5/2011 - williamswhine wrote: 91 Points
Nice, inky shiraz. Full bodied, big dark berry nose, slight raisin/prune, little spice. I've had better efforts from JDW. Albeit this wine is outstanding, I actually prefer other vintages.
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6/9/2011 - markcic wrote: 91 Points
Opened slowly to aromas of crushed fruit - beautiful on the midpalate with berries and flowers - nice long finish.
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5/19/2011 - Serge wrote: 89 Points
Decanting seems to hurt. Low acidity, medium body. Fruit forward, mostly cherry. Significantly overpriced at $30.
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5/17/2011 - jeremyzolk wrote: 93 Points
Opened a little tart, but mellowed. Vanilla, leather and dark fruit nose. Dark, dark fruit flavors. Great structure. Great finish.
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5/4/2011 - Stephan O wrote: 91 Points
Tart and disjointed at first, but it integrates impressively after a couple of hours. I get kirsch, blackberry, raisin, and especially a heavy-duty dose of herb (ahem, Mary Jane). Lively acidity. This is always a solid QPR bottling, especially because the GSM aspect gives it a leg-up in the complexity department over a straight-up Shiraz.
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3/5/2011 - BillyT wrote: 91 Points
Pop and pour. Get ready for the prunes! VERY pruny finish and really was soooo dominant I missed everything else. Having said that it was a bad taste just overwhelming. 10 minutes to gather myself. Beautiful dark purple color to a rust rim, Big bold legs, nose of oak and vanilla almost reminiscent of a cali cab, dark fruit, mocha, leather, beef, initial mouth feel full bodied with bright cherries and spice on the tip of the tongue, mid palate still capturing even more spice but smooth subtle tannins, great dark fruit, to a still spicy reasonably tannic finish and the prunes have balanced out with the other fruit. Drinking very Rhone/CdP ish. Lovely wine. Duval is one of the Aussie winemakers who do Rhone/CdP style very well and this is no exception. (91-92)
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1/29/2011 - JustinMcDonald wrote:
Yummy, drinking very well, has balanced out since the last one I had. Was very much a pop and drop, deserved a bit more respect and a visit to a decanter.
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1/21/2011 - bluedam wrote:
Drinking nicely. Some purple fruits upfront leading into beautiful spice leather notes mid pallet. Bottle has been opened for 2+ hours still some acidity and tannin on the back pallet suggesting the wine will continue to cellar well.
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11/6/2010 - memksm1995@gmail.com wrote: 90 Points
Classic Aussie GSM - big jammy fruit with spice on the mid palet. Medium finish. Will hold the rest for at least a year or two longer. Very tight upon opening - I think this one has excellent potential
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9/8/2010 - kstoddard wrote: 86 Points
Black in color. Raspberry and charred oak on the nose. Tastes of blackberry, boysenberry, and leather. Earthy mid palate and finish with some noticeable alcohol. Very full bodied. Tart acidity. Huge oak backbone. Slightly green.
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5/20/2010 - Henman wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for one hour.On the nose medium dark and red fruit/berries and some floral notes.Rather smooth and primary palate with nice fruit likewise the nose and a slightly peppery finish.Vibrant and smooth tannic grip.This is well balanced and actually elegant for an aussie wine.Not a fruit bomb that I expected.Got clearly better with further airing in the glass so give it a looong decant.
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4/11/2010 - G.M. wrote: 92 Points
Ripe, strong nose. Grenache evident. Not hot despite ripeness and alcohol - balanced by decent acidity. Chocolatey notes. Very lush and mouth filling. Intense fruit and good length. Tannins already round. Drinking very well young.
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