Celebrating Again! (Ngaio, Wellington, New Zealand):
A rare privilege to drink what may well be a 100-year wine. At the age of 24, this is still so tightly wound and primary, although there is also plenty of bottle age apparent - it's just developing at a glacial pace!
Dense purple, and (still) in a monolithic phase. So massive, and so expressive of Syrah - the blackberry fruit and black pepper notes are classic, but they are all still subsumed in a structure of huge and primary dimension. The nose develops very well over the evening, showing a variety of nuance, but they are simply hints of what will eventual come once the wine hits its ultimate expression.
It is less-open than the regular cuvee - riper, richer, and very much in an opulent cult style, but it does not sacrifice the expression of terroir in favour of ripeness and intensity. It is less opaque tha it showed eight years ago, but I suspect that with this style of wine making, the transparency will come in (a long) time. Almost the definition of vin de garde.
A very great wine and a privilege to drink, but I imagine its apex of perfection is between 10 and 20 years in the future!