This has aged nicely. Still some dark plum/cherry notes but much of the fruit has faded leaving pleasant floral & bbq tertiary notes. Integrated light acid/tannins. I wouldn't hold this too much longer but it's certainly still drinking well.
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My palate's moved away from Australian shiraz a bit over the years, so I've decided to experiment a little with the ones I have left by giving them some age to see if they appeal more, and while I never actually had this one young, I can say that it's pleasantly surprising and quite enjoyable at this stage. Pretty dense coloring still. Aromas of dark and dark red fruits, maple syrup, cedar, anise, tar, and dried spice drawer. Very nice and complex. Medium body, medium(+) acid and finish, and flavors of dark red fruits, orange peel, and black tea. There's no tannic grip whatsoever, but enough acidity to keep it together and alive. Pretty enjoyable I must say.
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Cellar clean-up: This wine was tasty -- good fruit and nice tar on the finish as well -- but these bottles are all long gone. Great QPR for $12 / bottle. Drink now if you have them.
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A nose of dark fruit and spice, dark purple in color. A medium to full bodied Shiraz, with blueberry, black currants, licorice and a spicy finish, a good value.
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Consistent. Its been over a year since my last 2006. It's improving with aditional age Juicy and delicious but a good underlyng structure. The wine has years ahead of it. Herbal notes in a long, smooth finish. Just a really nice bottle of wine. Glad I have 3 more to enjoy. There is a beefy, chewy note to the wine with a hint of smokiness. Fun drink.
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88-89 points. Please see previous review, still accurate. A bit of eucalyptus/herbal notes on the nose here too now. Nice wine, still lean toward Barossa over McLaren Vale in general. Enjoyed and will buy another vintage.
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light bodied shiraz, dark in color, quite good at the price. Not as meaty as I would like but that i just my personal preference. Quite quaffable at the price, definately a drinking wine
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A nice wine. I don't drink a lot of shiraz but picked this up for our Christmas eve party. Only a glass was drank at the party (it was opened late and forgot) and then it sat in my fridge for 2 nights. Here on night three it paired horrib ly with chicken kiev and rice (an unfortunate pairing, kiev was on the menu and this was open so here it went). All that said this is holding up well after three days. I have been drinking mostly old world lately and this being sweet, fruity, and big, it actually is serving well as a digestif for me tonight. Blackberry pie, blueberries, plums. Some oak (vanilla) influence. Not usually my cup of tea but a well made wine and doing the job tonight. 14%ABV; Screwcap.
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Cloudy purple. A pleasant nose of blueberry pie, spice, and leather. Medium bodied, intense plums and blackberries, pepper, hardly noticeable tannins, smoke, some heat, and a medium to long finish. Full flavored easy sipper, and a decent value under $13.
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I'm a big fan of Aussie Shiraz in general, and Kangarilla Road does a nice job. I continue to find that the McLaren Vale Region is not quite as over the top as Barossa in style. Don't get me wrong, they're still big and bold, but not like Barossa. Personally I don't want over the top in a Pinot Noir, & I want bold but not fake when it comes to Cabs. Even a Washington State Syrah should be more subtle in some respects... but when it comes to Aussie Shiraz, I say the bigger the better. I continue to be a Barossa fan over McLaren Vale for this reason. Nice nose here: blueberry, some black currant, smoke, & some oak. On the palate: Blueberry first, with some herbal notes filtering in mid-palate, and then some oak & vanilla on the finish. Not super complex, but it has some layers (dimension) and isn't a one-trick-pony. I'd buy again, though I will say that there are others like this or better for slightly less than the $14-15 that this was. I'd still choose most years of the Peter Lehmann (Barossa) over this (~$13), and for just a few more dollars (~$19) you can pick up Chris Ringland too. All of this said, I really like it. 89+.
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This has given me hope not only in this producer but in mid-priced Australian Shiraz. The last time I tasted another bottling from this same producer it was extremely disappointing. This wine is fruit forward but falls short of a fruit bomb. It's creamy, silky smooth on the palate, the flavors are quite integrated and even thought it's not very complex, it's got enough layered fruit to be very pleasant. At 14% alcohol is actually restrained from what we see these days. Had this with lamb kebobs in Peruvian aji amarillo, rosemary and honey marinade. The match took me by surprise and brought a smile to my face. Thank you for the lovely evening Kangarilla Road!
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Some good black fruit. After an hour open the tar started to emerge. Will be much better with 6-12 months of bottle age (more tar and complexity). See notes from prior years' vintages. We had with mac 'n cheese with spicy pork sausage. An ok pairing.
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Very good overall Shiraz---great for the price. Fruit forward without being over the top. Did not need decanting---was very good upon opening and did not improve much with air time. Day 2 was less impressive. I liked this on it's own, but also with grilled meat. Will continue to buy.
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Nose of blackberry, spice and a hint of chocolate. The palate is pitch black, with notes of blackberry, black plum and black pepper. If you like fruit, this is definitely for you, it just lacks a bit of tannic grip that would pull it to 90.
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Dark purple red in the glass with lots of viscosity, the nose is pretty muted for a shiraz, with primary notes of blackberries and spiced prunes. There's a bit of secondary aromas of black pepper bacon. The promise of the nose largely carries through on the palate, which is fairly simple, but quite sweet and tasty. The 14% alcohol is reasonably well-contained, and there is a surprisingly good bit of acidity to keep this from being flabby, so overall this is nicely balanced. Considering that this was $12 pro-rated in the WL pack, this is really very nice. It's just a hair too simple to rise all the way to the 90 Spectator score, but it is still a very nice Monday night sipper. For the money, I really like it.
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Agreed with joe812: good value weeknight wine @ thirteen bucks. Better balanced than I'd expect from a less expensive Shiraz: not too jammy or flabby, with moderate spice keeping in at least one-and-a-half dimensional. Light/lively enough that it'd probably better suit a pork roast, say, than the burger I washed down with it.
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Nice wine, although the wine was a little too cold. (sat in the truck all day) Will have another glass or two tonight after it has been inside sitting in the cellar. More notes then.
Day Two: Lots of black fruit in the nose and through the palate. Muted tannins, but that could be from sitting. No vinVac, just the screw cap. It was very enjoyable and would probably up my rating to 87 at least now that I've had it in a proper setting. Went very well with the dinner menu.
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Not special, even for the money. Ok, I know this is not an expensive shiraz (paid about $13), but I have tasted more interesting ones for less money (Peter Lehmann's is always a good bet). Nose is fine with dark fruit, but the front end falls short of the flavor profile people crave shiraz for. Mid to back palate is ok, but again not special.
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This wine falls into the "delicious" category. Big, ripe and generous, delivering a powerful mouthful of blackberry and creamy milk chocolate and vanilla flavors that push right through to the the plush finish. If this wine had just a bit more going on it could be worthy of another point or two. (Drink 2010-2013) - JD91
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Opened and drank immediately. Drinking right form the bottle. No breathing necessary. I actually think it was better freshly popped than after an hour of breathing. Good wine... easy drinking... lots of fruit... tannins were soft but ample. Not as much of a fruit bomb as I was expecting though. Would drink it again. Especially for $14. Will make a lot of different people happy.
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Similar experience as per previous note, but heat showing in the finish, which exacerbates the lingering perception of some sweetness of fruit. Still nicely endowed, enjoyable.
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Unscrewed, decanted for two hours. Very promising nose, with just the right amount of creamy oak and dark fruit. Nice attack, with high-toned acidity, integrated tannins and delicious black plum fruit. Falls apart on the finish, though, where a cloying sweetness builds. Too bad, this would have been a solid $12 wine otherwise.
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2nd time tasting this wine, with consistent impression. Color very dark red, full body. The nose on this is crazy big, like a Marquis Philips style with huge OTT ripe blackberries, red cherries, licorice, tar, and black pepper that explodes in your nostrils. What I like even more about it is the fact that it is more restrained on the palate, with a very nice balance of cherries, blackberries, baking spice, and earth. The acidity is medium-plus and uplifting, medium tannins. Extended finish of sweet dark fruit. Overall a distinctly Aussie shiraz that is probably better on its own after dinner rather than trying to wrestle pairing it with food. Not a lot of complexity here, but it overdelivers on the nose and tongue for 14 bucks. Will need to get a few more bottles of this for occasional sinful enjoyment.
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Ripe blackberries dominate with lingering sweetness. Despite the big fruit there's something sort of aloof about this wine. I thought it was okay, but I didn't love it.
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Wine Education Service Australian Regional Diversity Tasting (LSE, London): Very dark and brooding. Dark chocolate, black fruits, touch of vanilla and clove. Lovely Autumnal/Winter aromas. Mouthcoating fruit, blackcurrant jam. Velvet texture with just a little alcohol burn. Fruit bomb yet moreish.
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3/25/2018 - David_T wrote: 89 Points
This has aged nicely. Still some dark plum/cherry notes but much of the fruit has faded leaving pleasant floral & bbq tertiary notes. Integrated light acid/tannins. I wouldn't hold this too much longer but it's certainly still drinking well.
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9/8/2016 - studleytrey wrote: 90 Points
My palate's moved away from Australian shiraz a bit over the years, so I've decided to experiment a little with the ones I have left by giving them some age to see if they appeal more, and while I never actually had this one young, I can say that it's pleasantly surprising and quite enjoyable at this stage. Pretty dense coloring still. Aromas of dark and dark red fruits, maple syrup, cedar, anise, tar, and dried spice drawer. Very nice and complex. Medium body, medium(+) acid and finish, and flavors of dark red fruits, orange peel, and black tea. There's no tannic grip whatsoever, but enough acidity to keep it together and alive. Pretty enjoyable I must say.
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2/17/2016 - TashNYC wrote: 90 Points
Cellar clean-up: This wine was tasty -- good fruit and nice tar on the finish as well -- but these bottles are all long gone. Great QPR for $12 / bottle. Drink now if you have them.
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1/27/2016 - theporkrail Likes this wine: 90 Points
Good, but not astounding. Mature chocolate flavours, highly enjoyable
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3/10/2015 - gajalaa Likes this wine: 89 Points
Dark Purple Color With Full Body. Some Spice And Dark Fruit on the nose. Licorice and blueberry on the palate and a spicy finish
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1/9/2015 - joet626 Likes this wine: 90 Points
fruity with nice finish
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7/22/2014 - DLeeds wrote: 88 Points
Very good, Australian Shiraz
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12/2/2012 - corkscrews wrote: 89 Points
A nose of dark fruit and spice, dark purple in color. A medium to full bodied Shiraz, with blueberry, black currants, licorice and a spicy finish, a good value.
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11/4/2012 - baseballvino wrote: 90 Points
Consistent. Its been over a year since my last 2006. It's improving with aditional age Juicy and delicious but a good underlyng structure. The wine has years ahead of it. Herbal notes in a long, smooth finish. Just a really nice bottle of wine. Glad I have 3 more to enjoy. There is a beefy, chewy note to the wine with a hint of smokiness. Fun drink.
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9/7/2012 - joet626 wrote: 88 Points
Typical Aussie Shiraz. Lots of fruit and full bodied. Was nothing special but a solid bottle.
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7/6/2012 - DoubleMagnum wrote: 88 Points
OK. Felt it was better before.
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5/31/2012 - MadisonWIneGuy wrote: 88 Points
88-89 points. Please see previous review, still accurate. A bit of eucalyptus/herbal notes on the nose here too now. Nice wine, still lean toward Barossa over McLaren Vale in general. Enjoyed and will buy another vintage.
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3/26/2012 - haBu wrote: 83 Points
light bodied shiraz, dark in color, quite good at the price. Not as meaty as I would like but that i just my personal preference. Quite quaffable at the price, definately a drinking wine
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1/18/2012 - DoubleMagnum wrote: 90 Points
Solid 90 for me. This is a winner this year.
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12/26/2011 - Sakas Likes this wine: 87 Points
A nice wine. I don't drink a lot of shiraz but picked this up for our Christmas eve party. Only a glass was drank at the party (it was opened late and forgot) and then it sat in my fridge for 2 nights. Here on night three it paired horrib ly with chicken kiev and rice (an unfortunate pairing, kiev was on the menu and this was open so here it went). All that said this is holding up well after three days. I have been drinking mostly old world lately and this being sweet, fruity, and big, it actually is serving well as a digestif for me tonight. Blackberry pie, blueberries, plums. Some oak (vanilla) influence. Not usually my cup of tea but a well made wine and doing the job tonight. 14%ABV; Screwcap.
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11/29/2011 - merryberry wrote: 88 Points
Cloudy purple. A pleasant nose of blueberry pie, spice, and leather. Medium bodied, intense plums and blackberries, pepper, hardly noticeable tannins, smoke, some heat, and a medium to long finish. Full flavored easy sipper, and a decent value under $13.
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10/15/2011 - DoubleMagnum wrote: 90 Points
Took this wine to a lunch party. Everyone loved it and I'm not surprised. Constant goodness.
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10/9/2011 - TashNYC wrote: 90 Points
Jen had a bottle last week, when I was away. Wine seemed to disappear and be enjoyed.
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10/3/2011 - MadisonWIneGuy wrote: 89 Points
I'm a big fan of Aussie Shiraz in general, and Kangarilla Road does a nice job. I continue to find that the McLaren Vale Region is not quite as over the top as Barossa in style. Don't get me wrong, they're still big and bold, but not like Barossa. Personally I don't want over the top in a Pinot Noir, & I want bold but not fake when it comes to Cabs. Even a Washington State Syrah should be more subtle in some respects... but when it comes to Aussie Shiraz, I say the bigger the better. I continue to be a Barossa fan over McLaren Vale for this reason. Nice nose here: blueberry, some black currant, smoke, & some oak. On the palate: Blueberry first, with some herbal notes filtering in mid-palate, and then some oak & vanilla on the finish. Not super complex, but it has some layers (dimension) and isn't a one-trick-pony. I'd buy again, though I will say that there are others like this or better for slightly less than the $14-15 that this was. I'd still choose most years of the Peter Lehmann (Barossa) over this (~$13), and for just a few more dollars (~$19) you can pick up Chris Ringland too. All of this said, I really like it. 89+.
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9/28/2011 - DoubleMagnum wrote: 90 Points
This has given me hope not only in this producer but in mid-priced Australian Shiraz. The last time I tasted another bottling from this same producer it was extremely disappointing. This wine is fruit forward but falls short of a fruit bomb. It's creamy, silky smooth on the palate, the flavors are quite integrated and even thought it's not very complex, it's got enough layered fruit to be very pleasant. At 14% alcohol is actually restrained from what we see these days. Had this with lamb kebobs in Peruvian aji amarillo, rosemary and honey marinade. The match took me by surprise and brought a smile to my face. Thank you for the lovely evening Kangarilla Road!
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9/20/2011 - TashNYC wrote: 89 Points
Some good black fruit. After an hour open the tar started to emerge.
Will be much better with 6-12 months of bottle age (more tar and complexity). See notes from prior years' vintages.
We had with mac 'n cheese with spicy pork sausage. An ok pairing.
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9/15/2011 - TeachUsWine wrote:
good value for $10
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9/5/2011 - InternationalWineReport wrote: 91 Points
Tasted Twice. Consistant.
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8/14/2011 - costacasa wrote: 87 Points
Very good overall Shiraz---great for the price. Fruit forward without being over the top. Did not need decanting---was very good upon opening and did not improve much with air time. Day 2 was less impressive. I liked this on it's own, but also with grilled meat. Will continue to buy.
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7/16/2011 - baseballvino wrote: 88 Points
Unchanged since last tasting. Solid wine. Good QPR. Bit of funk on the PnP.
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5/18/2011 - David_T wrote: 88 Points
Nose of blackberry, spice and a hint of chocolate. The palate is pitch black, with notes of blackberry, black plum and black pepper. If you like fruit, this is definitely for you, it just lacks a bit of tannic grip that would pull it to 90.
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4/11/2011 - Phredd Likes this wine: 88 Points
Dark purple red in the glass with lots of viscosity, the nose is pretty muted for a shiraz, with primary notes of blackberries and spiced prunes. There's a bit of secondary aromas of black pepper bacon. The promise of the nose largely carries through on the palate, which is fairly simple, but quite sweet and tasty. The 14% alcohol is reasonably well-contained, and there is a surprisingly good bit of acidity to keep this from being flabby, so overall this is nicely balanced. Considering that this was $12 pro-rated in the WL pack, this is really very nice. It's just a hair too simple to rise all the way to the 90 Spectator score, but it is still a very nice Monday night sipper. For the money, I really like it.
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3/7/2011 - Charlie Pendejo wrote: 84 Points
Agreed with joe812: good value weeknight wine @ thirteen bucks. Better balanced than I'd expect from a less expensive Shiraz: not too jammy or flabby, with moderate spice keeping in at least one-and-a-half dimensional. Light/lively enough that it'd probably better suit a pork roast, say, than the burger I washed down with it.
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2/28/2011 - MCrawford wrote: 86 Points
Nice wine, although the wine was a little too cold. (sat in the truck all day) Will have another glass or two tonight after it has been inside sitting in the cellar. More notes then.
Day Two: Lots of black fruit in the nose and through the palate. Muted tannins, but that could be from sitting. No vinVac, just the screw cap. It was very enjoyable and would
probably up my rating to 87 at least now that I've had it in a proper setting. Went very well with the dinner menu.
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2/19/2011 - laxman wrote: 87 Points
Not special, even for the money. Ok, I know this is not an expensive shiraz (paid about $13), but I have tasted more interesting ones for less money (Peter Lehmann's is always a good bet). Nose is fine with dark fruit, but the front end falls short of the flavor profile people crave shiraz for. Mid to back palate is ok, but again not special.
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1/8/2011 - InternationalWineReport wrote: 91 Points
This wine falls into the "delicious" category. Big, ripe and generous, delivering a powerful mouthful of blackberry and creamy milk chocolate and vanilla flavors that push right through to the the plush finish. If this wine had just a bit more going on it could be worthy of another point or two. (Drink 2010-2013) - JD91
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12/4/2010 - NJ BIG CHRIS wrote: 88 Points
Opened and drank immediately. Drinking right form the bottle. No breathing necessary. I actually think it was better freshly popped than after an hour of breathing. Good wine... easy drinking... lots of fruit... tannins were soft but ample. Not as much of a fruit bomb as I was expecting though. Would drink it again. Especially for $14. Will make a lot of different people happy.
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11/27/2010 - pkatz wrote: 88 Points
Good flavors. A little more reserved than I would have expected. Good QPR.
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10/13/2010 - rbfoote wrote: 86 Points
Very nice full flavour but came on fairly strong with berries (sharp)...probably needed to breath more before consuming...
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9/29/2010 - Vinacull wrote: 88 Points
Similar experience as per previous note, but heat showing in the finish, which exacerbates the lingering perception of some sweetness of fruit. Still nicely endowed, enjoyable.
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8/30/2010 - VanVino Does not like this wine: 80 Points
Cloying, over oaked and a little vegetal. I can see how some people may like it, but it is just not my bag.
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8/15/2010 - joshwoodward wrote: 86 Points
Unscrewed, decanted for two hours. Very promising nose, with just the right amount of creamy oak and dark fruit. Nice attack, with high-toned acidity, integrated tannins and delicious black plum fruit. Falls apart on the finish, though, where a cloying sweetness builds. Too bad, this would have been a solid $12 wine otherwise.
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8/1/2010 - Vinacull wrote: 89 Points
2nd time tasting this wine, with consistent impression. Color very dark red, full body. The nose on this is crazy big, like a Marquis Philips style with huge OTT ripe blackberries, red cherries, licorice, tar, and black pepper that explodes in your nostrils. What I like even more about it is the fact that it is more restrained on the palate, with a very nice balance of cherries, blackberries, baking spice, and earth. The acidity is medium-plus and uplifting, medium tannins. Extended finish of sweet dark fruit. Overall a distinctly Aussie shiraz that is probably better on its own after dinner rather than trying to wrestle pairing it with food. Not a lot of complexity here, but it overdelivers on the nose and tongue for 14 bucks. Will need to get a few more bottles of this for occasional sinful enjoyment.
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7/24/2010 - mreinitz wrote:
Didn't taste this but my wife loved it and said it was much better tha n the bottle we had a few months ago.
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7/17/2010 - zacojam wrote:
Never tasted. Wine was drank by others
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7/7/2010 - NH WINO wrote: 89 Points
Nice color, tasted blackberries, overall a real nice wine, for an excellent price. Nice spicy finish as well, which I like.
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6/11/2010 - mprosser wrote: 90 Points
Very nice, give it time to open....
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5/10/2010 - mreinitz wrote: 87 Points
Ripe blackberries dominate with lingering sweetness. Despite the big fruit there's something sort of aloof about this wine. I thought it was okay, but I didn't love it.
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11/16/2009 - moods wrote: 89 Points
Wine Education Service Australian Regional Diversity Tasting (LSE, London): Very dark and brooding. Dark chocolate, black fruits, touch of vanilla and clove. Lovely Autumnal/Winter aromas. Mouthcoating fruit, blackcurrant jam. Velvet texture with just a little alcohol burn. Fruit bomb yet moreish.
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5/7/2009 - jelam wrote: 89 Points
Not super complex, but nice full bodied, jammy, fruit driven typical McLaren Vale shiraz
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