2002 Wendouree Shiraz , Clare Valley ( $40 ) , 13.7% alc.
Why open one of these now ? Well it would make a change from worrying about the type of crayon marks on the order form. Seriously though I also tried to use this as a learning experience to reinforce what a cellaring wine is like when in its youth.
Decanted at 10am. Colour a dense Red. Closed on the nose but with a nice "calmness".
The cork seemed a pretty average one - I would like to see one of those softer and longer corks like classed growth Bordeaux have.
Had first glass at about 8pm. Still closed basically although some oak , berries and savoury smells were noticable. The palate was quite enjoyable for me as I like Tannin and Acid and Fruit and I reckon these were all there in spades and most importantly they were all in harmony/balance.
I did a bit of research during the week on this wine and most of the things I read praising this vineyard and the aspects of the wines it provides I think are correct.
I'm not really into the technical side of Wine but it is apparently true that the combination of alcohol , acid and pH measurements are especially good in the grapes this vineyard produces which is the main reason for the quality of the wine.
Also I read of " vice like tannins " and " fine powdery tannins " - I found the latter description a better one when drinking the wine.
I have also read of some criticisms of the wine being dominated by a menthol character which I did not really notice on this bottle although my Mrs reckoned she could notice some " linament " but only just.
Had the second half of the bottle with some good cheddar and it was most enjoyable. I enjoyed the stubborn refusal of the wine to open up despite its 10 hour decant. It was quite weighty in the mouth with no particular components standing out.
CONCLUSION : As expected very elemental. The main thing I noticed was that there was good fruit combined with plenty of acid and tannins that were in excellent balance and therefore this deserves cellaring.
I've not said anything new here obviously but for me it was a learning experience and despite the value of reading and listening about others wine experiences there is no substitute for actually tasting and drinking these great wines yourself.
I now think I have a better feel for what to look for in a young wine that will positively benefit from cellaring so it was worth opening this bottle for that alone.