TN: '98 Kilikanoon The Oracle Shiraz (Clare Valley)

[Doc Rock]

This was a sexy, opulent fruit bomb in its youth.

Today, it was much more muted. With an hour or two of air time, it began to round out, and actually was quite pleasant with grilled filets and sauteed wild mushrooms.

No secondary flavors seem to be emerging, and it has gone from full-bodied to medium-bodied, so I'm not guessing it's going to get any better.

Drink up!

[MartinC]

Like a lady, most Aussies Shiraz are best appreciated "young" (I drank most b4 5yrs fr the vintage)
Very few are like Kylie Minogue

[Guest_Anders]

TO MartinC:

Loved your refernece to Kylie - EXCELLENT! "Right on the money".

Anders

[MartinC]

Anders,
I used to admired her during my adolescent. Lately I saw her in MTV - "Red Blooded Woman" which still make me go ga-ga
Do get urself some W.B.Platinum 2001. Almost Grange'98 like quality!!!

[Aussie Johns]

Like a lady, most Aussies Shiraz are best appreciated "young" (I drank most b4 5yrs fr the vintage)
Very few are like Kylie Minogue

Sorry, Martin, but what a complete load of Bulldust. Clearly, you have little experience with Oz wines. Your attitude is similar to our American friends, who assume big, bold Aussie shiraz didn't exist prior to Mr Parker "discovering" them.

As is very often the case, this wine is shutting down for a few years, and will re-emerge at 12-15 years of age or so as a mellow red in its plateau.

Baileys of Bundarra have been making this type of wine for Eons, and it is very common for them to go thru an awkward phase somewhere between 5-15 years. I remember the 1975 Bailey's hermitage "falling apart" in the early 80's, only to re-emerge as a great mature shiraz in the 90's, and remain a sublime wine to this day.The 1953 Baileys still drinks magnificently at over 50 years of age, and supposedly was a low-acid fruit bomb in its youth.

I get great amusement reading the WA Bulletin Board as the "experts" on Oz shiraz describe wines of the late 90's "falling apart"...gee I wish I could access the secondary market over there and pick up those "dud" wines for a song!!

[Guest]

I get great amusement reading the WA Bulletin Board as the "experts" on Oz shiraz describe wines of the late 90's "falling apart"...gee I wish I could access the secondary market over there and pick up those "dud" wines for a song!!

Stay tuned - I hear on the grapevine one Australian publication is going to pen something on this very topic later this year!

[Doc Rock]

Like a lady, most Aussies Shiraz are best appreciated "young" (I drank most b4 5yrs fr the vintage)
Very few are like Kylie Minogue

Sorry, Martin, but what a complete load of Bulldust. Clearly, you have little experience with Oz wines. Your attitude is similar to our American friends, who assume big, bold Aussie shiraz didn't exist prior to Mr Parker "discovering" them.

As is very often the case, this wine is shutting down for a few years, and will re-emerge at 12-15 years of age or so as a mellow red in its plateau.

I get great amusement reading the WA Bulletin Board as the "experts" on Oz shiraz describe wines of the late 90's "falling apart"...gee I wish I could access the secondary market over there and pick up those "dud" wines for a song!!

AJ,

Oh, how I wish all Australian Shiraz aged as gracefully as Raquel Welch and Ann-Margret!

I don't think the Oracle will make "old bones" simply because, 5 hours after opening, there wasn't much "there" - the fruit dropped, replaced with acidic notes and oak. Unlike the '98 Peter Lehmann Eight Songs (which I posted on 2 weeks ago), I detected no secondary flavors emerging in The Oracle, and, it had lost some "body" over the past couple years.

[TORB]

An interesting debate. Some will age and some wont, its a very broad brush we are using here. However, during my trip, two respected winemakers I spoke to both said they expected many of the 98's will not get better and may have been better consumed young.

[Doc Rock]

An interesting debate. Some will age and some wont, its a very broad brush we are using here. However, during my trip, two respected winemakers I spoke to both said they expected many of the 98's will not get better and may have been better consumed young.

Rick,

And that makes Aussie Shiraz no different from many other red wines from around the world!

Cheers!

[Aussie Johns]

The very large percentage of high-quality ($30+) wine from the 1998 vintage will live for yonks.
If we want to quote respected authorities, no less than Michael Broadbent has said on at least two occasions that 1998 wines will be extremely long-lived, and he certaintly aint no huge Oz wine fan.

[Doc Rock]

The very large percentage of high-quality ($30+) wine from the 1998 vintage will live for yonks.
If we want to quote respected authorities, no less than Michael Broadbent has said on at least two occasions that 1998 wines will be extremely long-lived, and he certaintly aint no huge Oz wine fan.

AJ,

I certainly hope so as I have more '98 Aussie Shiraz in my cellar than anything else

For wines like Grange, Hill of Grace and Wendouree, I have no doubts whatsoever. They will be extremely long-lived (and ready to drink around the time I retire! )

However, for wines and wineries with much shorter track records - especially those made in the more opulent style - I believe their longevity is an unsettled issue. The oldest Torbreck Run Rig (a wine I dearly love, but can no longer afford ) is a mere babe at age 9.

But, even if some of these nouveau Shiraz do manage to make old bones, there remains the question of whether they will improve with age.

[MartinC]

Micheal Broadbent also think PAVIE is undrinkable. He like old clarets that has past it's prime, dried and thin out.