Purple in color. The nose is very tight. With air, black raspberry jam and some spice. On the palate, this has a lot of black raspberry fruit but the finish is a bit clipped. Soft texture. OK finish. This is a very solid wine, but it is having some trouble ageing. It retailed for $70 on release and was probably a bit better back then. Perhaps some slow airing will give it some time to come together. It needs big meat dishes for food pairings.
Sadly, Shiraz from Australia has gone a bit out of style, but there are still some damn good ones. Inky purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose has black raspberries, black olives and black pepper. Full bodied. Nice texture. Light tannins. On the palate, this seems just a bit shy of maturity. Lots of black raspberry fruit, some coffee and black pepper. Long finish. While this is a big wine, it is not an ooze monster at all. Drink over the next fifteen years. This is great on its own and will work well with Lamb Stew.
When Marquis Phillips wines burst onto the scene around the beginning of the century, this was the flagship and quite the divisive wine. It was a poster child for the big, perhaps overblown style of Aussie Shiraz that was so popular at the time. Most loved them but many disliked the style. It was interesting to check in on this 21 years later. If you loved it then, you will still and vice-versa. Purple in color with ruby hues. Mostly clear and bright. It seems the color has faded a tad in the intervening 21 years. On the nose, this is fresh and big with black raspberries, black oliv
A chance to try the iconic wine of Australia is pretty special but a chance to try one with age is amazing. This bottle was decanted for a couple of hours and then poured back into the bottle and served after an additional two hours. It was still a bit tight but opened up in the glass quite well. The nose has black cherries, black raspberries, black pepper and slight roasted meats and roasted herbs. On the palate, it is medium to full bodied. Great balance. Nice black raspberry and black cherry fruit over char. This is drinking well and probably at or close to peak. No hurry, there
Australia's most iconic wine. Always a pleasure to try one and this, at age 30 is just showing traces of age. Inky purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose has black raspberries, vanilla, spice and slight black pepper. On the palate, this is full bodied with medium tannins. Plenty of black raspberry fruit. Fresh with lots of energy. Plenty of depth. This is drinking well now but may still improve as it matures. It should drink well for another fifteen years or more. This is great on its own and will work with roasts and drilled meat, fowl or veggies.
