TN: Battely Syrah 2002

[Wizz]

Red purple. Dusty ripe black berry licorice and sarsparilla/aniseed nose. This was initially a bit hessian like as well but that all went away in time, and after a few hours the viognier componenet started to manifest as a spicy tone, and the shiraz got more savoury/blakc olive. The palate starts as sumptuous, ripe dark cherries with a touch of chocolate, rich and beautifully textured. Theres a dusty element here too. It takes a few hours, but the 5% Viognier eventually shows itself. A trace of dried fruit on the palate at first which eventually blossoms to a lifted musky floral apricotty element. Some oak peeks through on the back palate and theres a prickly acid profile in there too but the fruit density holds it in check. The tannins really are subtle here: ripe and fine. Good length too, this persists for a while. Medium weight, this should gather some secondary complexity over a few years, but I think thatÂ’s about it. A key let down for me is that 5% is too much Viognier.

Drinking the balance of the bottle 24 hours later, the vognier aromatics have settled a bit, and the berry elements from the shiraz are showing more. I reckon this is a short to medium term prospect in the cellar. This is a very good wine and worth the $44 price, but I much prefer the brilliant 02 Castagna Genesis as a Beechworth shiraz.

cheers

Andrew

[Guest]

Andrew,

Do you have the tasting notes for the Genesis? What would be the drinking window for this wine?

Thanks.

Bob

[Wizz]

Bob, I didnt take notes at the time, but heres what I wrote the next day for the tasting note database:

"Intense dark berries, fishermans friend menthol, nuance of white pepper, good length, heaps of fine tannin, really good length. Super impressive, probably 96 points."

Loved it. I also remember it to be beautifully structured, the frame of tannins was impressive and matched the fruit intensity. I reckon it needs a couple of years to become more approachable (although the fruit is gorgeous now) and while I'm hopeless at guessing drinking windows I'd be hopeful of keeping this for as long as 10 years,

Hope this helps,

Andrew

[Cellar Rat]

Bob, I didnt take notes at the time, but heres what I wrote the next day for the tasting note database:

"Intense dark berries, fishermans friend menthol, nuance of white pepper, good length, heaps of fine tannin, really good length. Super impressive, probably 96 points."

Loved it. I also remember it to be beautifully structured, the frame of tannins was impressive and matched the fruit intensity. I reckon it needs a couple of years to become more approachable (although the fruit is gorgeous now) and while I'm hopeless at guessing drinking windows I'd be hopeful of keeping this for as long as 10 years,

Hope this helps,

Andrew

Wizz,

Re. Genesis shiraz in general, it's the menthol/medicinal character that I personally find a tad off putting and hence my points would be lower accordingly.

[fred]

[

Wizz,

Re. Genesis shiraz in general, it's the menthol/medicinal character that I personally find a tad off putting and hence my points would be lower accordingly.[/quote]

Have to agree with you : pet hate is menthol although some like it/do not object. I have this problem with Castagna frequently - and to a far greater extent, Berry's Bridge shiraz: for all those who thought the 2000 wonderful, I found it undrinkable and class it in the listerine mould.

A similarly (albeit less catastrophic on the palate) polemic trait is spritzig in reds cf Leeuwin Art series cabernet until at least 1991: I find it objectionable but many have no problems with it.

Each to his own but people should be aware of different predilections.

fred