1995 Virgin Hills

Community Tasting Notes (2)

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  12/5/2011 - graemeg wrote:

  {cork, 11%} What must be the longest cork ever inserted into a bottle of Australian wine (still 55mm at 16 years old) has done its job well. Despite what seems to be a slight crumbliness, the wine hasn't penetrated more than 4mm up the sides, and the level is perfectly good. Colour is only barely brick-red, with a pronounced orange tinge. Looks very old indeed. The nose of this wine is glorious. It resembles a fine old bordeaux, with a vaguely composty note, woodspice/cigar box, and fading red fruits combining together beautifully. There's a fair dose of a cinnamon-sweet aroma too, which I'll attribute to the shiraz in this single-vineyard estate blend. It's aged, certainly - smells more like 1975 than 1995 - but it really is perfumed and gorgeous.
  With a back label that claims no added sulphur, and a natural level not exceeding 10 parts per million, not to mention all of 11% alcohol, expectations are low, especially given the critical pasting the vintages of the late nineties received, chiefly on account of lack-of-ripeness. Actually this isn't too bad; the flavours are gentle, very claret-like, notwithstanding that 'shiraz twist'. I don't detect any real greenness here - at least not beyond that which you could authentically expect from a bordeaux-variety-based wine. It's light-bodied, with a gentle passing burr of grape-skin tannin, discreet acid, and aged red fruits. The lightness gives it a lovely balance along the tongue, but it all falls down at the finish, which just disappears all too quickly. Objectively, it's short. I'd like to say medium-length, but it would be a lie. Which is such a pity, because otherwise the wine is just lovely. A wine to sniff, mostly, then drink, all the time wishing for what might have been.
  Bottle just opened and poured; decanting would have killed this stone dead, I'm sure.

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  7/5/2004 - graemeg wrote:

  NobleRottersSydney - Blends night (Lucio's, Paddington): Brick red with a distinct orange rim. Very developed nose, with a bit of woodspice and stewed fruits. Light/medium body, but aged and somewhat lacking freshness. Odd for such a recent vintage.

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