1998 Leasingham Shiraz Classic Clare

Community Tasting Notes (20) Avg Score: 90.4 points

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  3/20/2021 - SeaCellar Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Drinking very well with pronounced boysenberry on the palate. Other bottles were great in their youth and this continues to stand the test of time.

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  2/19/2019 - forceberry wrote: 93 Points

  Aged for 24 months in American oak barrels. 14% alcohol.
  
  Dark and quite opaque black cherry color with somewhat developed brick hue. Surprisingly Cabernet-esque nose with aromas of ripe blackcurrants, cooked red fruits, some herbal minty notes, a little bit of peppery spice and a light, lifted hint of menthol. The wine is moderately full-bodied, somewhat developed and quite savory on the palate with lively and rather intense flavors of ripe blackberries, peppery spice, meaty umami, some herbal minty notes, a little bit of chocolatey toasty oak, light pruney tones, a caramel hint of Bourbon oak and a touch of marmaladey red fruit. Although the taste is still - after over 20 years - rather oak-heavy, the overall feel is quite pleasant and harmonious with its high acidity and ripe, resolved medium tannins. The finish is complex, somewhat developed and quite intense with slowly piling-up medium tannins and long flavors of tart red plums and brambly blackberries, some ripe blackcurrants, a little bit of meaty umami, light peppery tones, a hint of savory, woody oak and a touch of rough yet balancing bitterness.
  
  A very harmonious, complex and beautifully developed Clare Valley Shiraz with surprisingly Cabernet-like nose yet very classic palate. The wine still retains some obvious oak influence that certainly could benefit from additional aging, but overall the wine is starting to drink pretty well now. The wine will most likely at least hold, if not benefit, from another 10 years in a cellar, but there is no dire need to age it further. Most likely the wine would've been just too big and oaky for my taste had it been younger, but it is hitting a sweet spot right now. Great stuff and solid value at 40€.

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  2/19/2019 - Lype Likes this wine:

  Still quite closed, subdued, eucalyptus notes, cherries, umami, strong promising vintage, should be cellared at least 2-3 years to show its best.

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  2/19/2019 - Ran-Dom-Perignon wrote: 89 Points

  Nose: black pepper, liqurice, old furniture, oak, meaty-
  body+, tannin-, acid+, length++, intensity+
  Palate: blackberry, red currant, Green herb, liquorice, jagermeister--

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  4/6/2014 - cephomer wrote: 88 Points

  Drank at Alvins with some spicy cajun. Color shows a bit of bricking at the edges. Lots of tobacco hit me on the first whiff. Still decent fruit level, mostly blackberries & sour cherries. Some cedar and tar here, and lots of spice. Tannins mostly resolved and soft. A decent pour though the wine was a bit warm, and I likely waited a tad too long to open this one. The bottle faded badly over the course of our meal lowering my score.

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View all 20 Community Tasting Notes

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