Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz 2005

[Waiters Friend]

Red / purple in colour - considerably lighter than a 2006 I tried recently.

Spice and white pepper on the nose. Not overly alcoholic, in that there isn't obvious heat. Lovely plummy palate that lightly glosses over the tongue, without flooding the mouth. Medium finish.

I have a sense of this as a linear flow. As you drink it, the flavours are predominantly in a line from the tip of the tongue, down the middle and even a narrow feel as it goes down. Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying the wine, just rarely come across this profile.

Cheers

Allan

[cuttlefish]

I cracked a bottle of this wine last night, and I have to say it's the best one I've opened so far. The wine appears to be coming together nicely, with a quality nose showing some clear subtle pepper characters, backed by a vaguely sweet oak influence. There's plenty of fruit there, still, and it may just be entering it's drinking window now, with a good 10 years in front of it from here.
I found it a bit awkward on previous tastings, but last night my faith was restored. It's looking way more graceful now.

[Waiters Friend]

Thanks for letting us know, Cuttlefish. I have a couple of bottles and a magnum of this vintage, and will hold on to them a little longer.

[cuttlefish]

12/02/16
I'm struggling to enjoy this tonight. It's absolutely peppery, but it seems closed through the first hour of opening. I guess I'll see if the second half of the bottle is offering more tomorrow. It's probably a wine best enjoyed with food (earlier in the evening) rather than a late night bottle enjoyed on its own. Heaps left in the cellar, but it has got me wondering, despite previous positive tastings!

[Waiters Friend]

12/02/16
I'm struggling to enjoy this tonight. It's absolutely peppery, but it seems closed through the first hour of opening. I guess I'll see if the second half of the bottle is offering more tomorrow. It's probably a wine best enjoyed with food (earlier in the evening) rather than a late night bottle enjoyed on its own. Heaps left in the cellar, but it has got me wondering, despite previous positive tastings!

Hi Cuttlefish. Can you advise if the second night's sample was more to your taste? I'm considering running a vertical of this (2004-2013, no 2011) with some friends and I'm curious whether you would consider the 2005 'past it' as compared to your 2012 comment (10 years).

Cheers
Allan

[cuttlefish]

Hate to say it, but the second half is still sitting on the kitchen bench, untouched...

[Phil H]

As a coincidence I also opened the 2005 last week and was consumed over three nights.
I can remember first tasting this wine on release and was not impressed - it had no fruit qualities at all - showing no depth. I subsequently tried it numerous times over the next year with similar impression. Despite this, being a fan of previous vintages I stashed a few in the cellar. My first revelation of this wine was about a year ago - with it starting to show its potential. Coincidently vintage cellars had a special of this wine, and ended up with a few more.
Anyhow - upon opening last week - felt a bit disappointed. Despite being over 10 years of age, it did not show it, a bit like a recent cleanskin Victorian Shiraz.
However upon the third night (no tasting on 2nd night) - wine started to come around, showing some nice fruit and spice.
In summary - I don't think this wine is "past it", it just needs some time to open up. Give it a good decant.
Also recently I tasted the 2004 - a bit one dimensional, slightly green/stalky.
Let us know how the vertical tasting goes..

[cuttlefish]

Maybe the wine is in a dumb phase ??
I don't think it's past it.