1/01. Acquired (present from my dad) Mar-98.
I have had this Australian (Hunter Valley) wine about three years ago and it was horrible! The nose felt like putting your head into an oven, and the taste was like licking burnt charcoal while you are there...
In the hope that the added aging did something good we opened this bottle for a quiet Friday dinner at home [mushroom soup, Cordon Bleu, pears in liqueur].
COLOR: Deep dark purple with lighter ruby hues around the rim.
NOSE: Nothing like it was three years ago! Sure, oak is still evident, but this time it did not dominate the profound fruity elements. Both cherry-like red fruits and darker berries abound. Spice and game notes are also there. Excellent nose.
TASTE: Multi-flavored masculine wine, with plenty of fruit and winyness. Good fruit to balance the wood tones with fine backbone focus and grip. Complex and tasty juice with a lot of personality.
LENGTH: Very long and reverberating aftertaste.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Full bodied, bold and well structured wine. Soft tannins, opulent fruit, obvious oak and good acidity combine to deliver a well balanced and very interesting wine.
OVERALL: Very Fine. Still short of full maturity. I would not be surprised if in 2-4 years this wine can achieve even higher planes.

MARK: 18/20.

BUY MORE? Yes.

Reach Me? yak@yakshaya.com

Copyright 1996-2003.
Jacob "Yak" Shaya.