1989 Moss Wood Sémillon Wood Matured

Community Tasting Notes (1) Avg Score: 94 points

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  11/17/2020 - forceberry wrote: 94 Points

  The harvest of 1989 suffered from rainy weather, but fortunately botrytis infected only a small portion of the Sémillon grapes, and the following dry weather turned the infection into noble rot. Harvested on 14th of March, 1989. The wine was fermented in stainless tanks into complete dryness, then 2/3 of the wine was transferred to new French oak barriques. After 3 months of aging, the wine was blended together and finally bottled on 9th of August, 1989. 13,2% alcohol.
  
  Developed and very slightly hazy golden yellow color with subtle lime-green highlights. The nose feels developed, rich and waxy with layered aromas of wizened peach, peanut butter, some beeswax, a little bit of sweet gummi bear and almost dessert wine-like honeyed richness, light creamy notes of panna cotta, a hint of apple jam and a touch of toasty oak spice. The wine is rich, developed and very complex on the palate with a moderately full body and quite intense flavors of honey, dried apricots, some sweet gummi bear tones, a little bit of cooked cream, light woody notes of exotic spices and subtly toasty wood, a hint of mineral bitterness and a touch of dried pineapple. The wine comes across as surprisingly high acidity, lending wonderful sense of structure and balance to this otherwise very rich wine. The finish is very long, rich and complex with layered flavors of creaminess, dried pineapple, some caramel tones, a little bit of exotic spice, light notes of peanut butter, a hint of wizened apricot and a subtle touch of orange marmalade.
  
  A beautiful, wonderfully evolved and remarkably complex Aussie Sémillon that is just singing at +30 years of age. I was afraid the wine was already goners, not judging it just by its age, but also its rather evolved and slightly hazy appearance (through the bottle) but the wine turned out to be simply outstanding. While the wine is obviously very mature, it doesn't feel like it is falling apart yet. It is either at its plateau of maturity, or then at the end of its line, starting its inevitable downfall. All in all, this was a terrific effort, but it was definitely a high time to have it drunk - any further aging won't be for the benefit of the wine. Drink sooner rather than later. Ridiculous value at approx. 20€ (bought 20 years ago, though).

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