Inky purple in color. The nose has black raspberries and black olives. On the palate, this is very Northern Rhonish. Black raspberry, nice depth. Some complexity. Medium tannins. Good balance. Long finish. This needs time and there is a chance for upside improvement. Right now it is a big, energetic young wine. It will need bigger (meaty) to pair with.
Inky purple in color. The nose has sweet black raspberries, slightly dusty. On the palate, this is jammy black raspberries. Medium tannins. Thsi makes very easy drinking and while not over the top, this is more about instant enjoyment than depth and complexity. Will need big, strong food to pair with but will drink well on its own. Sure to be a crowd favorite. Drink in the next five years. $30 retail.
This was a very popular wine among friends. Inky purple in color. The nose has black raspberries, roasted herbs, slight roasted meats and black pepper. On the palate, juicy black raspberry fruit. Slightly jammy. A bit sweet. "Old school" Australian Shiraz but within reason. Not over blown for the style. This will need big and/or spicy food. It also works very nice as a cocktail wine. Available at Nakedwines.com.
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.
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
This was opened at a blind tasting and I think the entire table guessed correctly what it was. Certainly a distinctive wine. Purple in color. The nose has black olives, green olives and black cherries. Nice enough. On the palate, this is sweet and almost cloying. Black raspberry fruit. I had not had it in about 4 years and it hasn't held up that well (or it is in a bad spot right now). It is certainly drinkable but given the price... Some liked it more than I.
