Still almost purple, maybe cellared quite cold as this looks a lot younger than 10 years. Very clean and very primary, tasted blind I guessed this as Andrew Thomas KISS Shiraz. Plummy fruit, vanilla with just a hint of the syrupyness or cordial that I associate with HV Shiraz. Has years and years to go yet if you like seeing some tertiary character.
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Maybe this was heat damaged, but I really didn’t think it was that great. A big bodied, plummy flavor without much acid at all, little in the way of secondary or tertiary flavors and only a medium finish. Not a lot on the nose. Fairly rich wine but without a lot of depth.
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The wine displays an abundant crimson robe with just a suggestion of brick brown on the very edge. An intriguing nose of potpourri and cola is very evident with some white pepper deeply ingrained. Not a typical Hunter shiraz nose in my experience of years of drinking Hunter shiraz and Tyrrell’s in particular. The palate is in the modern fruit forward medium bodied Hunter style but with an exceptionally long spine of plummy fruit, gentle oak and a long profile of acid that carries the wine through to a penetratingly sustained aftertaste. A wine of substance and style that is likely to build further into something special and become more typically Hunter.
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Very good shiraz here from a high quality vintage. Boysenberry, black berry, earth, leather, hints of anise and a slight meatiness. It's certainly developing some nice tertiary complexity well ahead of what I was suspecting, which was a bit of a surprise. Certainly in the drinking zone now. Seamless and long. It just doesn't have the amazing density of flavour some of the other great Hunter 2014 shiraz have.
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Very good but more to come. Seemed quite closed until the end of the bottle (magnum). Raspberry cola, oak playing a part. Dusty tannin and acid driving the next glass.
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Grand Cru Shiraz (The four seasons hotel, the rocks, sydney): Reductive, clay, earth, savoury, leathery, plummy and spice aromas. Juicy, plummy, earthy, talc textured tannins persist long, with a little blackberry lozenge on the finish. Still needs time to come round...
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Tyrrell’s Vat 9 was very aromatic, lovely bouquet, definitely medium bodied but still great structure with fine tannins and overall very elegant I think. Took time to open up. Starting to appreciate Hunter Shiraz a little bit more.
Kellermeister Wild Witch 2016 was also had. Rich and full bodies, opulent, black fruits, good length, ripe tannins. I really like this wine too.
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Classic, classy. I’m with Halliday on this. An epic effort. First bottle since tasting at the cellar door 2-3 years back. And I don’t remember it showing this well. This is already singing in its youth. Bright and juicy red fruits with a lift on the finish. Balance is spot on. I’ve got no reason to doubt the 2040 projections on this. Great now and with plenty of upside 94+
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J'aime bien cette maison, ça aide quand Grant Bellvé de la place nous fait gouter à leur vin! C'est dense et soyeux mais le fruit est précis, des cerises et des bleuets avec un peu de poivre et d'herbes. Les tanins sont bien enrobés et la finale hyper longue et satinée, rien n'accroche. Impeccable.
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I have never before tasted a wine of such balance and poise... almost otherworldly, the mouth feel. Tremendous length. Berries, cherry, florals on the nose, beetrooty earthiness, a little vanilla oak, liquorice. Gentle tug of tannin. Vinfanticide I know, but I wanted to try this young, and I have more for the decades to come. Balance and length had me pondering higher points, even 97. Yet it left me wanting something more. Perhaps in time.
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Muted nose; hints of herbs and spices, red fruits along with some varnish. On the palate, red and black cherries, boysenberry, some plum, lashings of vanilla, spices, licqourice and cedar. A bright acid line runs through what is a medium to full bodied Hunter Shiraz. Superfine tannins. Finishes long. This needs another 10 years. It has promise for the future, but is quite a way from where it needs to be at this price point.
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Nose: deep, blackcurrant cordial, black cherry, pure fruit, vanilla, toast Palate: high tannin, medium+ acid, pronounced, medium finish. Purity. Hints of some savoury/soy.
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full on fruit, blackberry, black fruits and nutmeg, savoury vanilla spice, soft brown leather. Light weight not the palate, but heavy fruit carries it onward and upward. Wow. Intense
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On opening: Alluring and pure nose of blueberries and blackberries whispers out of the glass, silky on entry, light to medium bodied and very elegant, on the midpalate a core of violet, earth, plum resonates. Really fine-boned tannins that are already melting away and support without being noticed, like a good bra. Very polished and enjoyable, love how light this wine is. A little surprised of projections to 2040 as this wine drinks very easily now, however that may be to do with my inexperience with Hunter Shiraz.
A while later: the tannins emerge a bit more, a sheet and elegant. Very nice balance, the oak has been nicely judged, a small amount to provide slight lift but not to overawe the fruit. Wonderful balance. Try again in 2023.
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Open top fermented, 15 months in new/old French oak. 97 from Halliday, 97+ from Gary Walsh, 98 from Mike Bennie, 97 from Jeremy Oliver sets a scene of high expectations.
The big and consistent reviewer scores set high expectations. Colour is mid-purple. The nose of red berries with some subtle spice in the background. Medium bodied palate of red fruits, subtle oak, medium-light tannins. A touch sweet, with some earthy notes as well. Nice level of acidity. Obviously still quite young, but the structure and potential looks good. Would I say it's a $80 wine? Not sure - time will have to tell. The rest are going away for a good sleeping period.
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Excellent, 13.3% alc. Colour: dark berry/brick red, chocolate Bouquet: rich savoury berry and cherry, spice, charry and toasty spice Palate: spicey vanilla, as bouquet, blueberry and black currant, white pepper, medium bodied, very soft fruit dominated tannins, soft long clean finish - an elegant wine December 2015
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Deep ruby colour. The wine has a dense aroma of red and black fruits which appear to be just waiting for more time to shine through more individually. Has had a couple of hours in the decanter but nowhere near long enough. Black cherry, spice notes. On the palate the wine is very well structured: a little restrained at this stage but crying out to go the long haul and wow in years to come. Boysenberry notes. Medium to full bodied, medium plus furry tannins, persistent length. A wine to come back to in five years time.
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Hunter Valley Roadtrip 2015: Meaty, blackcurrant, spice. Full flavoured palate with black and red fruit, delivers with intensity while retaining a sense of poise. Lines of spice and great acid keep it fresh and interesting. Impressive stuff.
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3/26/2024 - colinscellar Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still almost purple, maybe cellared quite cold as this looks a lot younger than 10 years. Very clean and very primary, tasted blind I guessed this as Andrew Thomas KISS Shiraz. Plummy fruit, vanilla with just a hint of the syrupyness or cordial that I associate with HV Shiraz.
Has years and years to go yet if you like seeing some tertiary character.
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3/17/2024 - Volleyball wrote: 89 Points
Maybe this was heat damaged, but I really didn’t think it was that great. A big bodied, plummy flavor without much acid at all, little in the way of secondary or tertiary flavors and only a medium finish. Not a lot on the nose. Fairly rich wine but without a lot of depth.
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9/1/2022 - cogo44 Likes this wine:
The wine displays an abundant crimson robe with just a suggestion of brick brown on the very edge. An intriguing nose of potpourri and cola is very evident with some white pepper deeply ingrained. Not a typical Hunter shiraz nose in my experience of years of drinking Hunter shiraz and Tyrrell’s in particular. The palate is in the modern fruit forward medium bodied Hunter style but with an exceptionally long spine of plummy fruit, gentle oak and a long profile of acid that carries the wine through to a penetratingly sustained aftertaste. A wine of substance and style that is likely to build further into something special and become more typically Hunter.
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5/22/2022 - azzah Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very good shiraz here from a high quality vintage. Boysenberry, black berry, earth, leather, hints of anise and a slight meatiness. It's certainly developing some nice tertiary complexity well ahead of what I was suspecting, which was a bit of a surprise. Certainly in the drinking zone now. Seamless and long. It just doesn't have the amazing density of flavour some of the other great Hunter 2014 shiraz have.
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12/25/2021 - GGLT Likes this wine:
A worthy red for Christmas celebration
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12/14/2021 - GD77 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Very good but more to come. Seemed quite closed until the end of the bottle (magnum). Raspberry cola, oak playing a part. Dusty tannin and acid driving the next glass.
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12/2/2021 - chatters wrote:
Grand Cru Shiraz (The four seasons hotel, the rocks, sydney): Reductive, clay, earth, savoury, leathery, plummy and spice aromas. Juicy, plummy, earthy, talc textured tannins persist long, with a little blackberry lozenge on the finish. Still needs time to come round...
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1/16/2021 - PKim Likes this wine:
Tyrrell’s Vat 9 was very aromatic, lovely bouquet, definitely medium bodied but still great structure with fine tannins and overall very elegant I think. Took time to open up.
Starting to appreciate Hunter Shiraz a little bit more.
Kellermeister Wild Witch 2016 was also had. Rich and full bodies, opulent, black fruits, good length, ripe tannins. I really like this wine too.
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3/7/2019 - Jimmy_D Likes this wine: 94 Points
Classic, classy. I’m with Halliday on this. An epic effort. First bottle since tasting at the cellar door 2-3 years back. And I don’t remember it showing this well. This is already singing in its youth. Bright and juicy red fruits with a lift on the finish. Balance is spot on. I’ve got no reason to doubt the 2040 projections on this. Great now and with plenty of upside 94+
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2/26/2019 - maxima wrote: 91 Points
J'aime bien cette maison, ça aide quand Grant Bellvé de la place
nous fait gouter à leur vin!
C'est dense et soyeux mais le fruit est précis, des cerises et des bleuets
avec un peu de poivre et d'herbes.
Les tanins sont bien enrobés et la finale hyper longue et
satinée, rien n'accroche. Impeccable.
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12/7/2018 - Gdubya Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very purple in colour. Coming together nicely, but still a way off
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4/8/2018 - Avid Wino wrote: 95 Points
I have never before tasted a wine of such balance and poise... almost otherworldly, the mouth feel. Tremendous length. Berries, cherry, florals on the nose, beetrooty earthiness, a little vanilla oak, liquorice. Gentle tug of tannin. Vinfanticide I know, but I wanted to try this young, and I have more for the decades to come. Balance and length had me pondering higher points, even 97. Yet it left me wanting something more. Perhaps in time.
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3/25/2018 - DanielJH wrote: 93 Points
Muted nose; hints of herbs and spices, red fruits along with some varnish. On the palate, red and black cherries, boysenberry, some plum, lashings of vanilla, spices, licqourice and cedar. A bright acid line runs through what is a medium to full bodied Hunter Shiraz. Superfine tannins. Finishes long. This needs another 10 years. It has promise for the future, but is quite a way from where it needs to be at this price point.
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2/20/2018 - R J Lewis wrote:
Nose: deep, blackcurrant cordial, black cherry, pure fruit, vanilla, toast
Palate: high tannin, medium+ acid, pronounced, medium finish. Purity. Hints of some savoury/soy.
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11/7/2017 - VinCapitan Likes this wine: 95 Points
full on fruit, blackberry, black fruits and nutmeg, savoury vanilla spice, soft brown leather. Light weight not the palate, but heavy fruit carries it onward and upward. Wow. Intense
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5/18/2017 - VinCapitan wrote: 89 Points
blackberry, curry leaf, good and savoury, overt acid drive. Not really a fan. 89
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4/16/2017 - lightning wrote: 92 Points
Had to see what all the hype was about.
On opening: Alluring and pure nose of blueberries and blackberries whispers out of the glass, silky on entry, light to medium bodied and very elegant, on the midpalate a core of violet, earth, plum resonates. Really fine-boned tannins that are already melting away and support without being noticed, like a good bra. Very polished and enjoyable, love how light this wine is. A little surprised of projections to 2040 as this wine drinks very easily now, however that may be to do with my inexperience with Hunter Shiraz.
A while later: the tannins emerge a bit more, a sheet and elegant. Very nice balance, the oak has been nicely judged, a small amount to provide slight lift but not to overawe the fruit. Wonderful balance. Try again in 2023.
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3/24/2017 - Flemboy wrote: 88 Points
Bold Shiraz like but very fruitful with boysenberry and hints of fig. Had with a nice steak.
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8/30/2016 - AnonymousCoward Likes this wine: 92 Points
Open top fermented, 15 months in new/old French oak. 97 from Halliday, 97+ from Gary Walsh, 98 from Mike Bennie, 97 from Jeremy Oliver sets a scene of high expectations.
The big and consistent reviewer scores set high expectations. Colour is mid-purple. The nose of red berries with some subtle spice in the background. Medium bodied palate of red fruits, subtle oak, medium-light tannins. A touch sweet, with some earthy notes as well. Nice level of acidity. Obviously still quite young, but the structure and potential looks good. Would I say it's a $80 wine? Not sure - time will have to tell. The rest are going away for a good sleeping period.
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12/4/2015 - rmarkey Likes this wine: 92 Points
Excellent, 13.3% alc.
Colour: dark berry/brick red, chocolate
Bouquet: rich savoury berry and cherry, spice, charry and toasty spice
Palate: spicey vanilla, as bouquet, blueberry and black currant, white pepper, medium bodied, very soft fruit dominated tannins, soft long clean finish - an elegant wine
December 2015
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7/7/2015 - WineSpat Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep ruby colour. The wine has a dense aroma of red and black fruits which appear to be just waiting for more time to shine through more individually. Has had a couple of hours in the decanter but nowhere near long enough. Black cherry, spice notes. On the palate the wine is very well structured: a little restrained at this stage but crying out to go the long haul and wow in years to come. Boysenberry notes. Medium to full bodied, medium plus furry tannins, persistent length. A wine to come back to in five years time.
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5/31/2015 - CamWheeler wrote: 92 Points
Hunter Valley Roadtrip 2015: Meaty, blackcurrant, spice. Full flavoured palate with black and red fruit, delivers with intensity while retaining a sense of poise. Lines of spice and great acid keep it fresh and interesting. Impressive stuff.
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