June 30, 2023 - PnP - slow ox 45+ minutes in glass. Dark magenta - no orange or tan rim. Big, ripe (but not overdone or glorpy) Shiraz - lots of toasty American oak amongst the blackberry and plum aromas. Complex, dense
flavors of rich blackberry liqueur, baking spices, with hints of licorice, chocolate and espresso. Really long, luxurious finish. Very low acidity and fully integrated tannins imply this is at peak. A very satisfying and hedonistic wine that should be consumed in the near-term if you're lucky enough to have any!
March 4, 2023 - Cork broke on extraction. Nose; wow, chocolate, mocha, some slight pirazine, a little eucalypt and ripe plum.
Palate; very secondary and sweet, very smooth and balanced, finish is quite lingering. There's a real opulence and depth to the flavor on the palate.The flavor is multi layered.
The bottle we drank was far from past and I think this could still have some years left.
A lovely aged Barossa shiraz.
Halliday..."a very good example of the full-on American oaked shiraz style"...........suits me. 93+
September 14, 2021 - Tonnes of oak yet it almost seems to lighten the wine, make it more elegant. Like Rioja.
Fabulous and opulent. A real treat.
14.5%, cork.
April 3, 2021 - 'Aged Aussies' Dinner (Joseph's Place, Wong Chung Hang, Hong Kong): One of my contributions. Decanted for 2 hours then re-bottled and served 7 hours later. Broken cork. Deep red/purple colour. Nose of burnt getaway car trees, red asphalt, eucalyptus, a nice green capsicum element emerges with time in the glass. quite high-toned. Palate is very rich and deep, stollen cake, fresh raisins, super depth and layers of black and red cherry fruit, some cherry liqueur too. Beautiful fruit. Muscular but quite elegant. Very powerfully long, resonant and reverberant on the finish. Delighted how it has unfurled since I last drank it in 2013 when it was a sullen adolescent. Very long life ahead of it. 93+
May 23, 2020 - Still great, an excellent case of the great ‘98 vintage; still smooth, great fruit, palate and finish; at its peak but not past it.
February 3, 2019 - At 21 years this wine is still tasting great. It may be just past its peak, but maybe just. Still has nice fruit, but is showing so many other interesting notes. So many Aussie Shiraz are so big, this one is very elegant. Starting to turn garnet in color. Notes of plum, leather, and pepper on nose and palate. Still very nice acidity, tannins very smooth, and med body. Very well made wine
November 8, 2018 - 2 hour decant. Getting a bit old now, definite brown around the edges but colour still fairly dense. Muted nose. Strong prune flavour, hints of shoe polish and chilli chocolate. NR due to age but I'm guessing it would have been a 94 or 95 a few years ago.
December 8, 2017 - Surprisingly fine, light on its feet. Top class. No jarring alcohol or oak. Oodles of flavour.
{14.5%, cork}.
June 27, 2016 - corked bottle
December 17, 2015 - Drank with Bryan with pork ragu. Incredible balance for Aussie Shiraz. Had a salty-mineral quality along with the expected dark fruit. Mature but definitely not over the hill. Will drink the remaining one over the next 2 years.