A couple of points first to put this review into perspective: 1 - I generally have a strong preference for old world, non fruit-driven wines; 2 - I'm not a fan of most of the d'Arenberg, in-your-face-fruit-forward wines. Having said that, this has reconfirmed my conviction that this wine is far and away better than any Rhone (even CdP) GSM I have ever tasted (certainly within a comparative price range). For a start it has terrific longevity. The 2001, for example, will continue to develop and improve over the next 3 years, and will last several years beyond that. Already it's begin to show that gorgeous bitter chocolate textures and flavors I enjoy so much with a good grenache-based wine. There's still a bit of acidity which has begun to mellow and a complexity which is enormously satisfying. Strongly recommended and no hurry whatsoever to drink.
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Served blind...I would not have gotten this one. Holding this in the cellar for 8 1/2 years proved to be worth the wait. While not overly complex, this wine seems to "in it's prime". Some dark fruits with a hint of leather on the nose. On the palate the fruit is a bit brighter than what I expected. Dark cherries come to mind. Good acidity, substantial but smooth tannins. The finish is a bit clipped but not enough to detract from the overall impression of the wine. Drink now.
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another blind Saturday at S2's house: Blind. Strong tannins, mixture of plummy red and brambly black fruits. Glycerin. Really grapey from the Shiraz. This one is a real fooler--I never get aged Aussie wines when tasted blind. Delicious right now.
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Light ruby orange in colour - I suspect that this has been badly stored - so not rated. Thin bodied - the fruit has gone and left a shell of alcohol and acid.
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Dinner with xhoser (Wildfire, Oakbrook): Received just a brief decant off its sediment before being rebottled for travel. Crimson color, some bricking at the edge. Aromas of mint, plum, red fruit and herbs. Minty red fruit flavors with nice integration on the palate. I see no reason to hold these any longer. 90+ pts.
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Offline with Xhoser (Wildfire, Oak Brook, IL): From Allred. Full bodied. Black fruit notes. Firm tannins. Going strong. Dark crimson color. The equal of the 1999 vintage of this wine. 90 points.
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- Ruby color with medium forming legs and aromas of black pepper, raspberry, blackberry and eucalyptus. It's in total harmony and has flavours of dusty with a medium body. Polished texture with a medium finish - This seems lighter and less weighty than I remember. This wine has mellowed considerably from it's youth. Wonderful fruit. High 'drinkability'. Should last for several more years. If I'm going to nitpick, the finish is a little short. But just a little.
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Popped and poured. Has shed its tannin. All ripe and full red berry fruit, eucalyptus. Drank well but its hard to imagine the fruit has much life left. Well made, luscious and tasty but lacking extra depth. If I had more I would be drinking them sooner rather than later.
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Still has that beautiful, grenachy nose. With a little air, and a T-Bone, this was pretty amazing stuff. Later on, the midpalate fell of a little bit, and it didn't quite reach the levels I was hoping for. Still very young, I'd probably hold for a couple years and retry to see if it comes together a little bit better.
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Huge nose! I mean, I wasn't getting dark ripe fruit while pouring the whine, and when I put my nose to the glass, explosions. Unbelievable that this is a 2001. Just gorgeous, rich, dark primary fruit. Concentrated and full mouthfeel. The tannins are substantial, but seem to round around the mouth, and not overpower at the finish. I would have probably thought this too much if I drank a couple of years ago, but a really nice bottle now. I see no rush to rush to drink this wine. It's gorgeous now, but will continue to amaze for at least a decade.
On day 2, the concentrated fruit remained, but the structure was lost, leaving the wine unbalanced, and very heavy.
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Every once in a while when I start grouping all Australia wine all into the same category (i.e., wine I generally don't enjoy) it's nice to come across a wine like this to remind me that there is wine coming out of Australia that can offer nice complexity. This wine is barely starting to show it's age around the edges of the glass. With no decanting, the bouqet is immediately complex and full of spices. It's a pleasure to just let sit, swirl and smell. In the mouth, this wine is nicely balanced and drinking quite well at this particular moment. It has good acidity and the tanins have dulled quite a bit. I pick-up dark fruit and a bit of liquorice and leather. Delicious.
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70% Grenache, 25% Shiraz, 5% Mouvedre. Fabulous purple teeth wine! Who says "money can't buy my love?"! Huge. Great fruit concentration. Spicy, brambly, leather, mocha... the works. A meal in a bottle. Dang Eunice! 15% alco (D7.5, F 6.5; Pine)
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Pretty tasty, well made wine. Good, relatively grenache at the start, perhaps darkened by the mourvedre, with a note of syrah on the end. I've drank it in the past against the CNP and it shows well, sexy. I have to say alone, over two nights, it's very drinkable, perhaps a tad more new oak than I prefer, but very enjoyable. Excelent winemaking and a great ringer if shown with the real think grom the old world.
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Norberto and Graciela were in town so we met for dinner at the Anvil Club. Grace is a fan of Aussie wines, so I opened this about two hours before it was served with dinner. Very dark color. Notes of blueberry, plum, pepper and chocolate. Flavors of dark fruit and caramel, with firm, sweet tannins. Paired well with my veal chop. Opened a bit too soon, but it was enjoyable for what it is. Still, I will hold my last bottle for a few years.
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Dark purple, impenetrable colour. Aromas of blackberry, blackcurrent, spice and licorice. Very well balance wine with chocolate and peppery notes on the palate after 1.5 hours of decanting. A powerful wine. will open my last bottles in a couple of years...my 93 points
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Medium-dark ruby colour. Aromas of currant, red fruit, minerals, black plums, vanilla. Medium-full bodied. Present tannins, showing cherries, plums, leather. Moderate finish with red fruits.
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Garnet red colour. Aromas of red fruit, cola, raspberry, and vanilla. Medium-full bodied with earth, mocha, and raspberry notes. Moderate finish, ~35s in length, with raspberry notes. Needs about 4-5 years of cellar time.
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Medium ruby to rim. Aromas of cherries, raspberry, cola. Medium-full bodied. Tart, with rootbeer, cherry, raspberry, and oak. Moderate, tart finish. Needs time. I've never been a fan of this wine from d'Arenberg.
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Purple in the glass. Paint shop notes in the bouquet with added burnt bark impressions. The bouquet is heavy, and almost stands as a warning of what’s to come. In the mouth the wine is incredibly dense, powerful and brutal, like a fist to the jaw. I did detect a good structure, but overall the wine seemed heavy more than anything. Half of the bottle was left after the tasting, and I left it re-corked for 5 days. Then I drank the remaining wine on day 6, and what a change it had gone through. Sure, it was still big and boysterous, but there was no more arm wrestling to be done, no fire to be put out, but lots and lots of ripe, sweet fruit coming through on the most wonderful notes of cherries and blue berries. A real turn-around and meriting a mid-90’s score.
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11/10/2022 - andrew.cameron Likes this wine: 90 Points
Alcohol dominates. Some nice tertiary development. Drink before 2024
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4/24/2017 - HousePour wrote: 93 Points
Blown away by how well this has aged. Beautiful red berry fruit on a slightly tannic frame with some very slight earthy mushroomy notes. Superb.
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4/16/2017 - drpaulross11@gmail.com wrote:
Delicious
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12/19/2015 - asajoseph Likes this wine: 90 Points
Fantastic, fully fruity still, rusty iron notes. Almost sanguine.
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12/24/2014 - jdbooth Likes this wine: 90 Points
Medium-bodied and mellow. Still very fruity & not past its prime.
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11/12/2014 - peterk Likes this wine: 91 Points
Good, well-integrated, mature GSM. A nice balance among fruit, spice and earth.
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12/8/2013 - JeandeTroyes Likes this wine: 94 Points
A couple of points first to put this review into perspective: 1 - I generally have a strong preference for old world, non fruit-driven wines; 2 - I'm not a fan of most of the d'Arenberg, in-your-face-fruit-forward wines. Having said that, this has reconfirmed my conviction that this wine is far and away better than any Rhone (even CdP) GSM I have ever tasted (certainly within a comparative price range). For a start it has terrific longevity. The 2001, for example, will continue to develop and improve over the next 3 years, and will last several years beyond that. Already it's begin to show that gorgeous bitter chocolate textures and flavors I enjoy so much with a good grenache-based wine. There's still a bit of acidity which has begun to mellow and a complexity which is enormously satisfying. Strongly recommended and no hurry whatsoever to drink.
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3/23/2013 - Cowie29 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Great nose......almost medium bodied
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9/8/2012 - S2 wrote: 91 Points
Served blind...I would not have gotten this one. Holding this in the cellar for 8 1/2 years proved to be worth the wait. While not overly complex, this wine seems to "in it's prime".
Some dark fruits with a hint of leather on the nose. On the palate the fruit is a bit brighter than what I expected. Dark cherries come to mind. Good acidity, substantial but smooth tannins. The finish is a bit clipped but not enough to detract from the overall impression of the wine. Drink now.
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9/8/2012 - S1 wrote:
another blind Saturday at S2's house: Blind. Strong tannins, mixture of plummy red and brambly black fruits. Glycerin. Really grapey from the Shiraz. This one is a real fooler--I never get aged Aussie wines when tasted blind. Delicious right now.
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1/19/2012 - Jasper May wrote:
Light ruby orange in colour - I suspect that this has been badly stored - so not rated. Thin bodied - the fruit has gone and left a shell of alcohol and acid.
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1/13/2012 - yayin wrote: 92 Points
Very nice full bodied with lots of plum and dark fruits. Wish I had more.
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12/13/2011 - AllRed wrote: 90 Points
Dinner with xhoser (Wildfire, Oakbrook): Received just a brief decant off its sediment before being rebottled for travel. Crimson color, some bricking at the edge. Aromas of mint, plum, red fruit and herbs. Minty red fruit flavors with nice integration on the palate. I see no reason to hold these any longer. 90+ pts.
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12/13/2011 - thelostverse wrote: 89 Points
Dinner at Wildfire with xhoser and locals. Seemed primary fruit has moved on with secondary traits coming on - leather and spice.
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12/13/2011 - Vino Me wrote: 90 Points
Offline with Xhoser (Wildfire, Oak Brook, IL): From Allred. Full bodied. Black fruit notes. Firm tannins. Going strong. Dark crimson color. The equal of the 1999 vintage of this wine. 90 points.
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8/13/2011 - jdbooth wrote: 91 Points
- Ruby color with medium forming legs and aromas of black pepper, raspberry, blackberry and eucalyptus. It's in total harmony and has flavours of dusty with a medium body. Polished texture with a medium finish - This seems lighter and less weighty than I remember. This wine has mellowed considerably from it's youth. Wonderful fruit. High 'drinkability'. Should last for several more years. If I'm going to nitpick, the finish is a little short. But just a little.
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5/26/2011 - kenv Likes this wine: 94 Points
WCC Blind Rhone Varietals from Around the World (Salty's Pub, Clifton Park, NY): 70% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 5% Mourvèdre. Gorgeous red fruit nose. Really exquisite in the mouth. Must be at its peak. Loads of pleasure here. 11 votes for WOTF, but I liked the Pandora even more.
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2/24/2011 - champ12oh wrote: 90 Points
Popped and poured. Has shed its tannin. All ripe and full red berry fruit, eucalyptus. Drank well but its hard to imagine the fruit has much life left. Well made, luscious and tasty but lacking extra depth. If I had more I would be drinking them sooner rather than later.
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4/25/2010 - WinoRick wrote: 92 Points
Youthful GSM blend. Wait a couple more years for the next bottle
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8/12/2009 - hutch wrote: 90 Points
Still has that beautiful, grenachy nose. With a little air, and a T-Bone, this was pretty amazing stuff. Later on, the midpalate fell of a little bit, and it didn't quite reach the levels I was hoping for. Still very young, I'd probably hold for a couple years and retry to see if it comes together a little bit better.
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11/6/2007 - hutch wrote: 92 Points
Huge nose! I mean, I wasn't getting dark ripe fruit while pouring the whine, and when I put my nose to the glass, explosions. Unbelievable that this is a 2001. Just gorgeous, rich, dark primary fruit. Concentrated and full mouthfeel. The tannins are substantial, but seem to round around the mouth, and not overpower at the finish. I would have probably thought this too much if I drank a couple of years ago, but a really nice bottle now. I see no rush to rush to drink this wine. It's gorgeous now, but will continue to amaze for at least a decade.
On day 2, the concentrated fruit remained, but the structure was lost, leaving the wine unbalanced, and very heavy.
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10/5/2007 - Ryan D wrote:
Every once in a while when I start grouping all Australia wine all into the same category (i.e., wine I generally don't enjoy) it's nice to come across a wine like this to remind me that there is wine coming out of Australia that can offer nice complexity. This wine is barely starting to show it's age around the edges of the glass. With no decanting, the bouqet is immediately complex and full of spices. It's a pleasure to just let sit, swirl and smell. In the mouth, this wine is nicely balanced and drinking quite well at this particular moment. It has good acidity and the tanins have dulled quite a bit. I pick-up dark fruit and a bit of liquorice and leather. Delicious.
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8/25/2007 - nubbin wrote: 94 Points
70% Grenache, 25% Shiraz, 5% Mouvedre. Fabulous purple teeth wine! Who says "money can't buy my love?"! Huge. Great fruit concentration. Spicy, brambly, leather, mocha... the works. A meal in a bottle. Dang Eunice! 15% alco (D7.5, F 6.5; Pine)
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2/13/2007 - baroloboy55 wrote: 91 Points
Pretty tasty, well made wine. Good, relatively grenache at the start, perhaps darkened by the mourvedre, with a note of syrah on the end. I've drank it in the past against the CNP and it shows well, sexy. I have to say alone, over two nights, it's very drinkable, perhaps a tad more new oak than I prefer, but very enjoyable. Excelent winemaking and a great ringer if shown with the real think grom the old world.
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1/3/2007 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
Norberto and Graciela were in town so we met for dinner at the Anvil Club. Grace is a fan of Aussie wines, so I opened this about two hours before it was served with dinner. Very dark color. Notes of blueberry, plum, pepper and chocolate. Flavors of dark fruit and caramel, with firm, sweet tannins. Paired well with my veal chop. Opened a bit too soon, but it was enjoyable for what it is. Still, I will hold my last bottle for a few years.
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2/19/2005 - mimik wrote: 93 Points
Dark purple, impenetrable colour. Aromas of blackberry, blackcurrent, spice and licorice. Very well balance wine with chocolate and peppery notes on the palate after 1.5 hours of decanting. A powerful wine. will open my last bottles in a couple of years...my 93 points
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11/9/2004 - futronic wrote: 87 Points
Medium-dark ruby colour. Aromas of currant, red fruit, minerals, black plums, vanilla. Medium-full bodied. Present tannins, showing cherries, plums, leather. Moderate finish with red fruits.
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8/24/2004 - futronic wrote: 88 Points
Garnet red colour. Aromas of red fruit, cola, raspberry, and vanilla. Medium-full bodied with earth, mocha, and raspberry notes. Moderate finish, ~35s in length, with raspberry notes. Needs about 4-5 years of cellar time.
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4/4/2004 - twoamps wrote: 91 Points
oay and plum up front nice very long tannic finish. very different and intereting but not what I’d call a classic.
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3/28/2004 - futronic wrote: 84 Points
Medium ruby to rim. Aromas of cherries, raspberry, cola. Medium-full bodied. Tart, with rootbeer, cherry, raspberry, and oak. Moderate, tart finish. Needs time. I've never been a fan of this wine from d'Arenberg.
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11/21/2003 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 93 Points
Purple in the glass. Paint shop notes in the bouquet with added burnt bark impressions. The bouquet is heavy, and almost stands as a warning of what’s to come. In the mouth the wine is incredibly dense, powerful and brutal, like a fist to the jaw. I did detect a good structure, but overall the wine seemed heavy more than anything. Half of the bottle was left after the tasting, and I left it re-corked for 5 days. Then I drank the remaining wine on day 6, and what a change it had gone through. Sure, it was still big and boysterous, but there was no more arm wrestling to be done, no fire to be put out, but lots and lots of ripe, sweet fruit coming through on the most wonderful notes of cherries and blue berries. A real turn-around and meriting a mid-90’s score.
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