April 27, 2024 - Dark in coulour, this offers a nose of dito fruit with blackberry, sloan and perhaps blueberry. I find it a bit hard to pinpoint the aromas, suffice to say "dark fruit". Also slightly medicinal with a hint of something herbal and minty, perhaps that eucalyptus austrailian wine is (in)famous for? On the palate again towards the inky end of the spectrum. Very similar to the nose. Quite big and powerfull but by no means a sweet fruitbomb, rather more about structure with toasted wood, medicinal herbs and dry rock: a good amount of mineral feeling with iron, granite and slight smoke. Medium tannins and acidity. Good lenght.
A lot better than last bottle back in 2019 but still not quite open for bussiness despite a 2-3h decant. I'll wait another 3-4 years for next btl.
January 5, 2024 - From century-old vines. Elegant old world style. Some flower petals, lots of wild herbs, just ripe blackberries, black olives, smoke, tar, wet stone, graphite, underlying sweet spices and toastiness from oak, bit of game and forest floor. Lush, layered, focus and long. This is really well made and starting to show its full potential now. 14%abv.
May 5, 2023 - Drank at Muse restaurant in Hunter Valley. Really good Shiraz one of my favorite from the trip. Bit on the pricey side though.
August 28, 2021 - Aroma of berry, spice and earthly notes. Palate smooth tannin, some vanillin and vibrant acidity. Finish long
October 23, 2020 - Hunter Whistlestop 2020 #2 (Hunter Valley): Reductive. Time and aggressive agitation shows polished oak, plums blackberry, sweet spice, dusty earth, concentrated and, for want of a better word, opulent. Juicy acidity and this is equally rich and concentrated on the palate. Talc textured tannins are persistent and perhaps a little too much for the fruit. Long, Non-intrusive alcohol warmth.
September 26, 2020 - Beautiful nose of lifted floral notes, a lot of savoury characters of mushroom, meaty and toast. Top quality drops.
June 3, 2020 - Focused nose of liquorice, cream, marzipan, ripe black fruit. Not overpowering with fruit or alcohol (14%) - balanced. Full bodied, highly tannic, long finish - excellent, would love to try again in 5-10 years
March 25, 2020 - Serious stuff on first sniff. Enchanting intermixing ripe black fruits, plum, well integrated oak sweet spices, graphite, smoke, tarry. Rich and elegant on palate, ripe and smooth tannins with a long acid line. Ultra fine and focus. A truly great Shiraz showing sense of terroir and is something beyond being Old/New World style. Would like to see how it ages.
January 13, 2020 - Hunter Whistlestop 2020 #1 (Hunter Valley): Cream, sweet spice, caramel, ripe plus, a little leather and clay. Juicy acid, there is a little red fruit sourness to underpin the ripe plum. There is also some alcohol warmth here. The tannins are silky and persist with the fruit and alcohol on the long finish. Hmm.
July 13, 2019 - High expectations for this wine. Decanted for about 40 minutes and then enjoyed over 2 hours. On the nose quite restrained, not giving much other than primary fruit and light spice. No black olives or meat. On the palate dense fruit without much sweetness nor detail. Some light smoke and iron. Not much in the way of tannins. Opens up a bit with time but not much. Feels shut down and very hard to access. A hard, black fruit wall with hardly a chink in it. A dissapointment tonight. Will let the remaining bottles rest 4-5 years at least.