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All tasting notes
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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.4 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 126 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Bonesetter on 5/24/2024 & rated 92 points: Lovely wine. Really delivers for a "second tier" wine. Heavy crust in the bottle. Pours clear, still more red than browned. Nose of baking spices and plums. Palate of fruit (red and black cherries and plums) with a touch of wet slate. (21 views) | | | Tasted by colinscellar on 5/23/2023 & rated 91 points: Underwhelming when twist'n'poured but really opened up over the next 30mins. Apparently I should have reviewed my tasting note from the last bottle.
Ripe cherries, blackberry, chocolate and just subtle hints of mint and vanilla. The alcohol at 15% is a touch hot, but if you're drinking McLaren Vale Shiraz you can't complain too much about prominent alcohol 😄 (557 views) | | | Tasted by andrew.cameron on 12/30/2022 & rated 94 points: Rich chocolate and coffee notes with smooth silky tannins. Drinking very well. Developing in the glass. (757 views) | | | Tasted by Bonesetter on 12/22/2022 & rated 90 points: Great McLaren shiraz. Not getting any better, though, so drink it now. (753 views) | | | Tasted by colinscellar on 12/16/2022 & rated 90 points: Better colour than the last bottle and a bit more fruit but still past its best.
Will see if it improves with time and can update the note if so, but expectations are low.
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Edit: improved significantly with air, more than I'd expect for a wine at 20 yrs. Plum and cherry fruit, some sweaty leather, vanilla.
Went from "I would not share this with friends" to "Enjoyable and good enough to share, especially as a bit of a novelty at 20 years." Score upgraded from 85 to 90. (781 views) | | | Tasted by Birddog29 on 12/12/2022 & rated 95 points: several (789 views) | | | Tasted by Birddog29 on 12/12/2022 & rated 96 points: Many (454 views) | | | Tasted by colinscellar on 12/9/2022: Twist & poured. Colour a bit browner than I would hope for but there was still some nice flavours here that opened up after a bit of time in the glass. (298 views) | | | Tasted by wine4ever on 10/23/2021: Superb wine from a superb vintage. Looked at my notes from 5 years ago and it hasn't changed a bit. I have no idea how long these will hold at this level of awesomeness, but I'm not getting any younger, so I'm enjoying these great wines while I still can. (1045 views) | | | Tasted by 716_cellar on 3/8/2021 & rated 93 points: Last bottle...This was a terrific vintage and wonderful wine. Still holding up but getting seems to be fading slightly. Will keep my eye out for some other vintages from Kay! (1308 views) | | | Tasted by 716_cellar on 1/1/2021 & rated 90 points: Happy New Year!!!
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Bottle #3 of 4...Definitely not on par with the previous 2 bottles, but still quite nice. Deep purple color w/ a slightly brown hue; Black & blueberry, w/ light oak and green pepper presence; Blackberry, plum, leather on the palate; pepper finish remains. 15%...
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Will definitely look for some new vintages of this wine...and polish off the last 2002 soon! (1420 views) | | | Tasted by 716_cellar on 6/7/2020 & rated 94 points: This wine continues to amaze...
Same review as before, but this time paired with a grilled porterhouse, which made for a great combo. I had no trouble tackling the entire bottle...
Going to be on the lookout for more of this and others from Kay! (1685 views) | | | Tasted by despore on 3/20/2020 & rated 91 points: Still going strong, shame this is my ls my last bottle. (1779 views) | | | Tasted by 716_cellar on 1/25/2020 & rated 93 points: Pulled 1 of 4 from the cellar to enjoy with friends. Previous reviews had me worried I waited too long...but this wine is drinking beautifully!
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Deep purple, smoky oak, blueberry, and green pepper on the nose; Blackberry, plum, leather on the palate; nice lingering peppery finish!
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Drank and enjoyed on its own, but will plan to pair the next bottle with some BBQ Brisket! (1482 views) | | | Tasted by despore on 1/25/2020 & rated 91 points: Still great, same as note below! (1275 views) | | | Tasted by levinml on 11/23/2019 & rated 91 points: Interesting flavor profile first out of the bottle. Not sure it was good, but settled down over next two nights. Good drinking, but don't wait. (1268 views) | | | Tasted by despore on 9/7/2019 & rated 91 points: Aging beautifully, still vibrant, bricking at the edges, blueberry (pie) on nose, still some heat, give it 15 mins to blow off, well balanced now, good acidity, fruit still strong, some secondary notes coming through, can still detect the oak a bit, fine grain tannins. All in all really enjoyed, especially at this QPR. (1133 views) | | | Tasted by Exered68 on 2/2/2019 & rated 91 points: (With mushroom lasagne plus plum and nectarine tart) Forgot how cheap this was back in 2011. Wonderful value for money. Not as overpowering as in the past but no signs of decline. Settled and friendly. (1416 views) | | | Tasted by Cadby on 5/27/2018 & rated 92 points: Brooding Beast, youthful complexity. Wolf in Sheep's clothing (1789 views) | | | Tasted by DSo on 12/20/2017 & rated 93 points: lots of black fruit, sweet and round tannin, balance and easy drinking, perfectly matured and drinking beautifully right now, value for money. (2006 views) | | | Tasted by buckeye76 on 10/22/2017 & rated 92 points: Similar notes as previous tasting (2012 views) | | | Tasted by Fergcc on 8/25/2017 & rated 92 points: Perfect time to drink this wine!
Great balanced, smooth yet complex drop, full of blackberry and current fruit, spices and liquorice. (1989 views) | | | Tasted by buckeye76 on 7/4/2017 & rated 92 points: Dark fruits, licorice, pepper, floral, and minerality in the nose. Blackberries and currants in the flavor, Nice balance and complexity. (2116 views) | | | Tasted by cshall on 8/6/2016 & rated 85 points: Not sure it's at its best. Still got many more. Need to clean out the cellar soon! (3037 views) | | | Tasted by Drinking Trees on 7/8/2016 & rated 84 points: Screwcap. Nose of heavy black fruit (blackcurrant, black cherry), toasted oats, and juniper, with hints of violet, balsamic vinegar, coffee, and stout. Palate shows big, frothy, pop-rock acidity, with a touch of vinegar. Flavours of blackcurrant, bicarb soda, cranberry concentrate, and poppy seed. Much simpler than the nose, and unfortunately the vinegar note doesn't go away. (2665 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, July/August 2005, IWC Issue #121
(Kay Brothers Amery Shiraz Hillside McLaren Vale) Subscribe to see review text. | By James Halliday
Halliday Wine Companion (3/4/2005)
(Kay Brothers Amery Vineyards Hillside McLaren Vale Shiraz) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous and Halliday Wine Companion. (manage subscription channels) |
| Kay Brothers Producer Website
U.S. Importer (Addt'l Info)
This artisanal producer in McLaren Vale has an ancient vineyard sitting right in front of the winery. The splendid Shiraz vines are over 100 years of age. The winery itself produced between 6,500 and 10,000 cases of wine, almost all of it Shiraz, with small quantities of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. There are no white wines, although a small quantity of spectacular fortified Muscat is produced. Most of the reds spend 18 months in a combination of 50% new and 50% old American oak, but the Block 6, as well as the Hillside Shiraz, are aged in 100% American oak for 24 months. The production ranges from a low of 400 cases (in 1999 and 2000) to just over 1,000 cases from the 100+ year old vineyard that is usually cropped between 1.5-2 tons per acre.
Grateful Palate Imports website: The new Hillside vineyard had its beginnings in 1992 when cuttings taken from the 100 year old gnarled vines of Block 6 were planted on the eastern hillside of the Amery Vineyard. Further plantings of the Block 6 clone took place in 1993, 1997, 1998 and 1999. These plantings have been an outstanding success consistently producing superb quality grapes for the winemaking team to turn into equally superb wine.
Shiraz Varietal article (Wikipedia) | Varietal character (Appellation America)Australia Wine Australia (Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation) | Australian Wines (Wikipedia)South Australia South Australian Wine Industry Association | South Australian Wines (Wikipedia)Fleurieu Fleurieu Wineries & Cellar Doors (southaustralia.com)McLaren Vale McLaren Vale (McLaren Vale Grape, Wine and Tourism)
(Hastwell & Lightfoot webpage) |
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