Lemon groves on the nose, along with some hay. There's a nice weight on the palate. Very attractive and nicely balanced with good acidity on the finish.
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley
There's something raw and green on the nose of this. It's also much more buttery on the nose than the Tyrell's. On the palate, it's young and still fairly tight. There's lots of acidity, that's not really feeling particularly integrated. Blimey! Get those burnt match flavours in the mouth after! Woah! Going back to it, there's sulphur on the nose too. With some time, it improved noticeably, but retaining the massive, searing acidity on the finish.
A very elegant nose, with much more poise. Citrus scents, with a touch of vanilla, and a slight hint of wool. Very good palate. Very balanced, with good acidity. Very nice indeed.
Pear spirit, honey, vanilla and lots of volatile acidity on the nose. This isn't right, I think. and it does taste slightly corked, underneath some rich creaminess. This has none of the rich, satisfying savoury feel on a previous bottle. Faulty.
A much deeper colour than the others. Honey, apricots and lemon on the nose. It's rich and full on the palate. It feels like it should be sweet, but it isn't. Nice, complex flavours. But there's a certain bizarreness in the mixed messages it gives you. Very interesting, but it messes with your head.
A youthful, vibrant nose with soft cherry fruit and a very subtle herbal lift. Young palate with lots of grippy tannin, followed up with a bit of raw alcohol on the finish. Rather green, unripe fruit in the mouth. Dull and unimpressive. Tuscany doesn't instantly make you think of syrah, and this bottle sort of explains why.
This has an attractive nose - very slightly funky, and with lots of hedgerow fruits. Very nice palate. Very balanced with good poise. This feels to me more elegant than many Crozes. Very good flavours: sweetish fruit and there's a nice savouriness to it.
There are high tones immediately on the nose. Very powerful high tones. Very scented, reminding me of cheap air freshener. On the palate, there's sweet fruit initially, and lots of viognier fragrance to it. For my taste, it's very high toned to the detriment of much else. It would appeal to Burgundy lovers, but if I want Burgundy, I'd open a bottle of Burgundy, not Côte Rôtie. Others seem to really like this, but I'm left wondering if it's really meant to be like this, and just finding it very hard work.
Woah!!! Good grief. Sweaty armpits with extra cheese! And some furniture polish too. Fortunately, the palate is as way out. There's sweet fruit, but a nice finesse. This has really good balance and is very fine on the finish, with very good length.
An interesting nose with a subtle meatiness. Salami maybe, alongside a touch of bisto and chocolate. In the mouth, it's powerful stuff. Very hot. Really rather simple feeling. There's also an odd, treacly feel at the edge of the palate. Not for me.
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
Yes, only 12.5% alcohol. An attractive nose: fairly meaty, with some bacon fat and some sweet black and red fruit. Lovely palate, with a lovely texture. It's luscious without being heavy. Mmm ... this is a lovely wine. It has a dusty, arid not-quite-garrique feel that speaks so much of the terroir. Superb wine.
A rather subtle nose with very gentle black fruits and some herbal, almost medicinal notes. On the palate, there's a silky, caressing mouthfeel. Very precise. Very classy.
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Plains
A much more concentrated nose than the St Henri, with bacon-y, gamey, black fruit. A really luscious mouthfeel: velvety and rich initially, giving way to fruit, giving way to a very firm tannic structure on the finish. Very big after. Huge length, though quite medicinal and numbing, like the effect of oil of cloves at the dentist's.
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills
Herbes de provence and dried rosemary dominate the nose, along with some lamb fat. There's lots of dried herbal character on the palate too, along with a certain meatiness. In fact, this is quite simply roast lamb in a glass! A very interesting wine, at least in the context of these other syrahs/shirazes. It might be a bit odd on its own in isolation though.
Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
A very sweet, very jammy, rather simple nose: sweet plummy fruit with some chocolate. On the palate, it's sweet and jammy with parkeresque fruit gobbiness. Good if you like this sort of thing, but it left me feeling unrewarded.
A refined nose - really rather minerally; fairly sweet; slightly lifted; slightly confected. A much nicer palate than the nose. Elegant fruit and very poised. Good stuff.
Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
An interesting nose with really quite subtle black fruits, bacon fat and dried herbs. In the mouth, this is large rather than big. Muscular and well toned, rather than big and flabby - remarkably so given the high alcohol content, which it carries (and hides) extraordinarily well. Very good balance. I like this more than I thought I was going to.
Some wines have front and back labels on the bottles; this has two different front labels. A dull, rther dried out, nothing-y nose. Musky and foxy with just a hint of TCA? On the palate, you can see some fresh, reasonably elegant fruit, but it is corked.
1991 Tyrrell's Sémillon Old Winery 90 Points
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
Lemon groves on the nose, along with some hay. There's a nice weight on the palate. Very attractive and nicely balanced with good acidity on the finish.
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2005 Mount Horrocks Sémillon 87 Points
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley
There's something raw and green on the nose of this. It's also much more buttery on the nose than the Tyrell's. On the palate, it's young and still fairly tight. There's lots of acidity, that's not really feeling particularly integrated. Blimey! Get those burnt match flavours in the mouth after! Woah! Going back to it, there's sulphur on the nose too.
With some time, it improved noticeably, but retaining the massive, searing acidity on the finish.
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2003 The Colonial Estate Sémillon L'expatrie 93 Points
Australia, South Australia
A very elegant nose, with much more poise. Citrus scents, with a touch of vanilla, and a slight hint of wool. Very good palate. Very balanced, with good acidity. Very nice indeed.
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2000 Chateau Musar Blanc Flawed
Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
Pear spirit, honey, vanilla and lots of volatile acidity on the nose. This isn't right, I think. and it does taste slightly corked, underneath some rich creaminess. This has none of the rich, satisfying savoury feel on a previous bottle. Faulty.
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1996 De Bortoli Rare Dry Botrytis Sémillon 92 Points
Australia, New South Wales, Big Rivers, Riverina
A much deeper colour than the others. Honey, apricots and lemon on the nose. It's rich and full on the palate. It feels like it should be sweet, but it isn't. Nice, complex flavours. But there's a certain bizarreness in the mixed messages it gives you. Very interesting, but it messes with your head.
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2006 Tenimenti d'Alessandro Syrah Cortona 83 Points
Italy, Tuscany, Cortona
A youthful, vibrant nose with soft cherry fruit and a very subtle herbal lift. Young palate with lots of grippy tannin, followed up with a bit of raw alcohol on the finish. Rather green, unripe fruit in the mouth. Dull and unimpressive. Tuscany doesn't instantly make you think of syrah, and this bottle sort of explains why.
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2005 Domaine du Murinais Crozes-Hermitage Cuvée les Amandiers 91 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage
This has an attractive nose - very slightly funky, and with lots of hedgerow fruits. Very nice palate. Very balanced with good poise. This feels to me more elegant than many Crozes. Very good flavours: sweetish fruit and there's a nice savouriness to it.
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1999 Domaine de Vallouit Côte-Rôtie Cuvée Spéciale La Voniere 84 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
There are high tones immediately on the nose. Very powerful high tones. Very scented, reminding me of cheap air freshener.
On the palate, there's sweet fruit initially, and lots of viognier fragrance to it. For my taste, it's very high toned to the detriment of much else.
It would appeal to Burgundy lovers, but if I want Burgundy, I'd open a bottle of Burgundy, not Côte Rôtie.
Others seem to really like this, but I'm left wondering if it's really meant to be like this, and just finding it very hard work.
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1999 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot 92 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Woah!!! Good grief. Sweaty armpits with extra cheese! And some furniture polish too.
Fortunately, the palate is as way out. There's sweet fruit, but a nice finesse. This has really good balance and is very fine on the finish, with very good length.
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2007 Glazebrook Syrah 040°S 177°E Regional Reserve 82 Points
New Zealand, North Island, Hawke's Bay
An interesting nose with a subtle meatiness. Salami maybe, alongside a touch of bisto and chocolate. In the mouth, it's powerful stuff. Very hot. Really rather simple feeling. There's also an odd, treacly feel at the edge of the palate. Not for me.
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1992 Qupé Syrah Reserve Bien Nacido Vineyard 94 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
Yes, only 12.5% alcohol. An attractive nose: fairly meaty, with some bacon fat and some sweet black and red fruit. Lovely palate, with a lovely texture. It's luscious without being heavy. Mmm ... this is a lovely wine. It has a dusty, arid not-quite-garrique feel that speaks so much of the terroir. Superb wine.
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1996 St Hallett Shiraz Old Block Flawed
Australia, South Australia, Barossa
Corked.
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1998 Penfolds Shiraz St. Henri 92 Points
Australia, South Australia
A rather subtle nose with very gentle black fruits and some herbal, almost medicinal notes. On the palate, there's a silky, caressing mouthfeel. Very precise. Very classy.
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2003 Penfolds Shiraz Magill Estate 90 Points
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Plains
A much more concentrated nose than the St Henri, with bacon-y, gamey, black fruit. A really luscious mouthfeel: velvety and rich initially, giving way to fruit, giving way to a very firm tannic structure on the finish. Very big after. Huge length, though quite medicinal and numbing, like the effect of oil of cloves at the dentist's.
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2000 Chain of Ponds Shiraz The Ledge 90 Points
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills
Herbes de provence and dried rosemary dominate the nose, along with some lamb fat. There's lots of dried herbal character on the palate too, along with a certain meatiness. In fact, this is quite simply roast lamb in a glass! A very interesting wine, at least in the context of these other syrahs/shirazes. It might be a bit odd on its own in isolation though.
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2000 Peter Lehmann Shiraz Stonewell 87 Points
Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
A very sweet, very jammy, rather simple nose: sweet plummy fruit with some chocolate. On the palate, it's sweet and jammy with parkeresque fruit gobbiness. Good if you like this sort of thing, but it left me feeling unrewarded.
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2001 Brokenwood Shiraz Graveyard 91 Points
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
A refined nose - really rather minerally; fairly sweet; slightly lifted; slightly confected. A much nicer palate than the nose. Elegant fruit and very poised. Good stuff.
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2007 Two Hands Shiraz Angels Share 90 Points
Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
An interesting nose with really quite subtle black fruits, bacon fat and dried herbs. In the mouth, this is large rather than big. Muscular and well toned, rather than big and flabby - remarkably so given the high alcohol content, which it carries (and hides) extraordinarily well. Very good balance. I like this more than I thought I was going to.
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2002 Casas del Toqui Late Harvest Sémillon Flawed
Chile, Rapel Valley, Cachapoal Valley
Some wines have front and back labels on the bottles; this has two different front labels.
A dull, rther dried out, nothing-y nose. Musky and foxy with just a hint of TCA? On the palate, you can see some fresh, reasonably elegant fruit, but it is corked.
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2006 Château Ramon Monbazillac Flawed
France, Southwest France, Dordogne, Monbazillac
Stonkingly badly corked.
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