2002 Mitolo Shiraz G.A.M.
Community Tasting Note
forceberry wrote:
Monday, October 11, 2021 - Each parcel vinified individually, macerated with the skins for 10 days, aged for 16 months in hogheads (55% new French oak, 15% new American oak, 30% used French/American oak). Bottled under a screwcap. 14,5% alcohol.
Evolved, slightly translucent blackish-red color with a slightly tertiary syrupy-brown hue. Powerful, moderately evolved and somewhat sweet-toned nose with bold aromas of blackberry jam, dried figs, some boozy alcohol, a little bit of tomato leaf, light cherry marmalade tones, a hint of developed meaty character and a touch of cigar. The wine is ripe, concentrated and chewy on the palate with a full body and rich, sweetly-fruited flavors of blackberries and raisiny tones, some tomato leaf, a little bit of meaty umami, light overripe black cherry tones, a toasty hint of sweet mocha oak and a touch of licorice. The high alcohol lends some obvious heat to the palate. The overall impression is quite fat and soft, thanks to the medium acidity and very soft and unassuming tannins that retain no grip at all and contribute very little to the texture. The finish is ripe, warm and quite sweet-toned with flavors of blackberry jam, some peppery spice, light toasty notes of sweet mocha oak, a little bit of pruney dark fruit, a hint of raisin and a touch of vanilla custard.
A very rich, bold and noticeably soft Shiraz where the emphasis seems to be on the very ripe fruit flavors and quite pronounced oak character, seeing how the mocha and vanilla notes still punch through quite noticeably even after almost 20 years of aging. Structurally the wine seems so soft that I'm quite positive it was ready to be drunk already upon release and has not really benefited at all from the aging. The fruit department has picked up some tertiary complexity and nice dried-fruit flavors, but it seems the wine would still need a lot more age to really integrate those oak flavors with the fruit, whereas the structure doesn't seem to promise much potential for any future development. Fortunately the wine was bottled under a screwcap, as the 2006 vintage (that was bottled under a natural cork) was already quite oxidized. I can't say this style of soft, super-ripe and oak-heavy Shiraz really speaks to me and it this particular wine doesn't feel like it really needs aging - it certainly feels aged and mature at the moment, but ultimately I'm not sure if the wine has actually turned any better since release.
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