1997 Penfolds Shiraz Magill Estate

Community Tasting Notes (12) Avg Score: 90.6 points

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  5/30/2022 - Bandreas Likes this wine:

  Darkest red color, with a center as black as Egypt's night.Beguiling nose of sweet shirts fruit (Again that solo instrument playing a wonderful tune). Round and smooth, everything well integrated, at the end a bit monochromatic, though..Straightforward, pleasant wine but the "something" is missing.

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  11/1/2018 - M DU VIN Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Elegant and well-balanced wine that is drinking very nicely at this stage.

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  8/26/2018 - johnrm Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Bottle number 21251. Quite pale in colour with negligible browning. Good nose and fresh red fruit as soon as it was decanted.
  After a couple of hours, the nose had opened to reveal a typical 'Penfolds' character but with restrained, almost perfumed, spicy notes. Mainly complex red fruits on the palate with excellent balance and acidity. A little orange acidity and orange zest gradually developed on nose and palate but this was transient. Much lighter than most Aussie Shiraz at 13.5% and unusually subtle and elegant with great length. With time, dark fruit - cherry and blackcurrant flavours - gradually emerged, taking over from the citrus character, and the wine seemed much, much richer, deeper, and 'sweeter'. It really changed and opened with time. After 5h, it was a different wine. Not a wine to judge on first impressions.
  I would not assess this as a 21-year-old wine; it seems much younger. It still has life ahead (but is our last bottle, sadly). I can't reconcile this 'youthful' bottle with some comments on CT from a few years ago. This is very fine wine and I feel privileged to have been able to enjoy it. I simply cannot afford recent vintages.
  I visited Magill 20 years ago and was saddened to realise then that many of the original Magill vineyards had been covered in housing by then. Thankfully, some still remain. This bottle is a poignant reminder of our memorable visit to Adelaide.

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  3/3/2018 - chrisdgsmith@hotmail.co.uk Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Entertaining so not really a chance to make notes whilst drinking. When initially opened I was a little concerned that it was going to be imbalanced but after 90 mins in the decanter it was singing. Very obviously Australian but I could've been fooled into thinking it was Coonawarra Cab because I felt I could taste that classic 'mintiness'. Anyway, very approachable with good intensity, good acidity and a hint of tannin. It wasn't quite a match for the Guigal Brune et Blonde 1999 that was drunk alongside but a nice glass of wine. My guess is this wine will hold together another couple of years, maybe longer.

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  9/26/2013 - JeandeTroyes Likes this wine: 95 Points

  I am very careful when using the word elegant - and never before have I used it to refer to a shiraz. This is a remarkable wine with balance, restraint, subtlety and wonderful complexity. A hint of blackcurrant, some oak, and a little toffee, with a rich bouquet to match the experience on the palate. Acidity is there, but in the background (which suits the wine perfectly). Plenty of aftertaste and an altogether marvellous drinking experience. Magill Estate wines have never disappointed, and this one is no exception. Don't panic if you have a bottle or two tucked away, despite what others may say there's quite a few years left in this one.

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