3/22/2018 - Softie Likes this wine:

Fascinating to see some of my favourite reviewers commenting on this wine: Professor, GM and Alex Garner.

I'm most in Prof's corner - and he liked it, with cavets - nice wine but a tad short on body ['dilute']. Pretty much everything else is there - as one can deem from the reviews of GM and Alex: berry good flavours [excuse me?], silky tannins, solid and not over done acid, overall balanced (body aside).

In good shape. No signs of tiredness - how could it at 8 years, from Margaret River and under Stelvin [cork be damned!]. Yet I feel no confidence extra age will add complexity given the under-done body; I hope I'm wrong :-)

6/15/2014 - rednick@internode.on.net wrote:

Screaming blueberries with heavy cigar box and some earth and mint - still lovely texture, with fruit still the primary focus followed up by the oak and nice splash of acid - soft yet present tannins that make themselves know on the finish - good+ and still has years on it

2/15/2020 - Dave Dewar wrote:

First of two bottles. 2" cork in good condition. Honey gold in colour. Clear. Aromas of wax crayon, pear, crème brulee, caramel, candied banana, sugarcane. On the palate, lik-a-stix / fun dip, bitter citrus, salt -- not as sweet as it smells. Long finish, again bitter citrus and salt. M body, m+ / h- acidity, XD (2 g/L), alcohol a well-integrated 13%. A nice sipper but not the best pairing with jalepeno peppers. Drink now. With Rob Dykstra.

4/28/2016 - Papies wrote:

Quite a dark colour for this Amon-Ra baby brother. Shame is on screw top as it definitely deserves a cork especially given this is named in honour of Ben Glaetzer's mother.
An opulent, light ethereal start with dark fruits, liquorice, light plums, herby spicy twist too. Well ripe on the palate, medium on the acidity, good depth but times heavy and lacks the charm of the Amon-Ra. A pretty solid wine and a well deserved 90-91 area from us.

7/13/2016 - jmastores Likes this wine:

We put this wine up against a 2002 and 2003. These wines showed that the 2008 is still very tight and will benefit from 3-5 more years of Aging. I put all my 2008 back in the cellar.

2/28/2012 - azzah wrote:

I just love Craiglee Shiraz, so I may be unintentionally biased, but it is such a medium bodied, complex wine that matures gracefully. It is by far my favourite Victorian region Shiraz. Aromas of cherries and berries with hints of chocolate and liquorice. Tastes of cherries, berries and plums, with secondary flavours of red liquorice, chocolate and cedar. Maybe just a hint of confection prevents a higher score.

12/9/2010 - TiggerK wrote:

Lovely fruit, but still way too young. Will be superb given at least 5 years, and I suspect will go 10 easily if well cellared.

8/3/2015 - JerM wrote:

(random mid-week bottle) Ruby garnet in glass, color intensity, and fine sediments, including interesting presence of fine tartrate crystals - I've never seen it in a red wine before, hmmmm (acidification??)... Rounded soft red cherries on the nose, along with cola nut, mocha and raspberries, with pleasant woodland undergrowth. Surprising spritz on the palate, gives way to a gentle explosion of dark floral roses and red berries, savoury bovril, residual fruit sweetness, gentle leathers, and graphite bitters. Plush acidity, yet focused, effortless and somewhat translucent. Developing nicely, definitely survived the shipping, and an earthy, lingering finish showing some characteristic yarra ferrousness (initially off-putting, but disappears with time), autumn leaves and bitter pastilles. Yummy, and easy drinking, pairing perfectly w cantonese roast meats. Given the acid balance, will easily continue to develop to show more secondary characters.

11/25/2016 - Xavier Auerbach wrote:

A private lunch (Restaurant Librije's Zusje **, Amsterdam, NL): Deep but fresh, good definition, fresh and floral nose but with a distinct, spicy and porty note, velvety tannins, hint of warm evolution, good weight, juicy acidity, finishes with notes of cedar and eucalyptus, good length.

8/26/2016 - Avid Wino wrote:

Nectar of the Gods is how this seemed tonight. Didn't think about it just enjoyed it. Looking back at my note from three years ago, yep, pretty much a richer, textured version of that. Fabulous.

6/21/2014 - Didicapt Likes this wine:

Leathery, sl floral, almost balsamic nose. Thin for a sangiovese but refreshing w/ some hints of cherry. No finish. No tannins. Refreshing and a good summery wine, but not big or chewey,

6/1/2016 - StewartWent wrote:

I suspect this stacks up very well as a leading red in the sub-1000 baht segment in Thailand. Blends new world fruitiness and thinking person's structure very well. Bright blackberry early but it's the backbone of furry (and almost gamey) tannin that elevates. A little nervy and hard at the very back of the palate but this is very young and needs time.

9/2/2013 - pbmedder wrote:

13.5% abv. Med + purple. Ripe raspberry jam, spice, nothing overworked or sweet. Medium body, fairly simple and short, but nice fruit, fine grainy tannins, pleasant. Good wine. Nothing overambitious, enjoyable, ripe fruit, easy going.

3/4/2012 - Delli Likes this wine:

Classic opaque color with long legs. The nose is suprisingly fresh for a Shiraz with earthy dark plumbs, mild sage, saddle wood and heat. Refreshing and sweet palate that is dominated by sweet red cherries. The tannins have started to round and dominate the finish but still need some more time. Will likely wait a few more years before trying another bottle. Anyone else find screw tops completely unfulfilling? 5+12+16+7=90

2/18/2011 - graemeg wrote:

2011 Sydney Royal Wine Show - Exhibitor's Tasting (Olympic Park, Homebush): Bronze medal {screwcap} There’s some development here, among the herbal spicy nose. Smells like there’s plenty of cab franc here, but that’s just a guess… On the palate, the flavours are rather twiggy, but in an authentically bordeaux-blend way; it’s medium-bodied, with medium chalky tannins. It’s rather lean generally, with a very low-voltage palate and worst of all, a rather disappointing short finish. A bronze medal was getting away with it, I reckon.

8/4/2013 - mwanasheria wrote:

This may be the best Sicilian white I have tasted so far. Lemon, citrus, apricots, quince, quite light on its feet. Really good.

12/25/2012 - fullpour wrote:

Looking for a bright, juicy tempranillo with barely discernible oak, produced from biodynamic vineyards, bottled in an arguably stylish package for under ten bucks? This should do you just fine. There's great, nervy acidity here along with a lovely undercurrent of cured tobacco that nicely offsets the rich, red fruit. To me, this isn't overdone or over-alcoholic, so it doesn't quite hit that confected, sweet note that other Parker-bait Spanish red wines can hit in this price range (*cough* Torremoron). Well done.

3/23/2013 - CamWheeler wrote:

White Burgundy followed by many others (Sydney, Australia): Rosemary, pepper, licorice, menthol and a fair bit of oak still showing on the nose. Medium bodied on the palate, the tannins are still exerting quite a bit of influence. I last tried this 7 years ago and the oak was dominating at that point, it has softened and melded a little bit but probably needs more time still, maybe another 7 years.

3/11/2013 - La Peste Likes this wine:

Grass and butter on the nose. Was anticipating a lot of oak treatment in the mouth but was pleasantly surprised that it wash't oaked out. Nice acidity, lemon zest and minerals on the palate.

12/23/2010 - Jack O'Brien wrote:

Very elegant Barbaresco - The oak compliments the Nebbiolo very nicely in this rich, fruit packed modern Barbaresco. Soft tannins and supple fruit-flavors with an excellent finish. The Rivetto family has amazing success and consistency making their all of their wines.

12/24/2012 - StewartWent wrote:

Good class here. Pongy nose of sour fruits with excellent lift. Palate is not huge (good!) but decent intensity with more sour fruits. Some cherries early but acid and minerals dominate as the wine opens up. Try again in 2 or 3 years.

2/23/2013 - Christoffer78 Likes this wine:

A beautiful and very elegant interpretation of Etna wine. Just like the Tenuta delle Terre Nere, Passopisciaro is a solid and good producer. The 2009 Passopisciaro delivers a nose full of elegant mature red fruit and the classy tone of terroir driven mineral like vulcanic soil. The palate is nicely balanced and all components appear very harmonic. The length on the finish could have delivered just a little bit more, since the nose and initial palate promise quite a lot. Overall impression is utterly positive. This is a brilliant example of how good Etna wines may behave in the glass. I see no reason to hold off drinking, but of course complexity will develop with some bottle age.

(Compared to an 09 Terre Nere Guardiola, this wine delivers just a little more acidity and a more elegant nose. The Guardiola is more dense and "compact" at present. Perhaps the Guardiola also promises a little more for the future.)

1/19/2013 - kwattro wrote:

lychee, hints of lemongrass, ripe pears and creamy butterscotch.