What a night of wines

[Gavin Trott]

Hello all,

As a wine retailer you are always trying wines. Some are good, some are dreadful, while most are just, well, wine!

Every now and again you get samples of wines you really want to try because you think they will be great. A few times (think Kalleske) they exceed your expectations, but unfortunately, more often, they disappoint.

So when I had three wines I really wanted to try, I thought IÂ’d try them together, and to help me, I looked for a couple of very good, independent palates.

Along came Steve Norman (aka 707) and Greg Whickens (perennial lurker), both very good and very experienced consumer palates.

As all too rarely happens, all three lived up to, and exceeded my expectations, what a great night, here are my notes.

Guys, feel free to add your impressions, good or bad, to my notes. This is the order we tried the wines in. All wines, as ever, were tried masked, I alone knew what the wines were.

Wine 1
Deep red purple colour, verging on the black, shows an intense wine. The nose backs this up, powerful aromas of ripe fruit, dark plums, dark berries and hints of truffles, plus some lighter notes of violets and cherries and right at the end, white pepper Â… this is serious wine! Throw in some cedar hints, plus liquorice and spice and you have one intense experience. The palate follows through beautifully, again dark ripe fruit dominates, black cherry and berry mingles with plum, hints of pepper and spice, plus a touch of coffee on the finish, nothing overdone. Some fine-grained American oak really well handled provides a backdrop only, the wine has both length and balance, with the structure to age. Great stuff!


Wine 2
Deep red purple in colour, this wine has style, quality and class written all over it. Its expressive nose was full of soft ripe fruits, blackberry, plums, small berries with just a hint of cream and vanilla, but very well balanced. The palate is an explosion of fruits, berries and plums, spices and dark chocolate, vanilla bean and liquorice, layered, creamy with a great mouthfeel. Despite this lushness the wine has structure and all the components to age beautifully. McLaren Vale Shiraz at its finest.

Wine 3
Well, after the other two wines this could have been a let down, how wrong that idea was! This wine is so purple its black and impenetrable. The wine has a huge nose full of perfectly ripened Shiraz fruit, concentrated blackberries, black cherries and plums, with dark chocolate, hints of coffee, spice and liquorice, lots going on. The palate currently is quite closed, its just so intense and packed! Swirling slowly revealed heaps of pure fruits, all in the dark berry spectrum, waves of flavour finishing in dark chocolate and spice, but again with very balanced oak handling. The finish lasts minutes, the wine has a huge life ahead of it as the multitude of flavours work through and out of the wine. Great cellaring future, very intense and serious, but relatively modest alcohol. When the fruit is this good, you donÂ’t need 15+% alcohol for power and class.

Phew, what a good night that was!

Steve, Greg, any further to add? (no names yet to protect the innocent).

[707]

Just been for a day in the Barossa showing around some new friends I picked up by way of a third and fourth party. One from Sydney, one from Melb and one from Los Angeles, I'm a sucker for showing newbies around our wine areas.

Did Torbreck, Veritas, Kaesler, Rockford Stonewall and Liebich. These guys were just blown away by the sheer class of these producers.

That preamble is because I had to struggle out of bed this morning after Gavin's mini tasting. I was so impressed that when I got home I opened a Kalleske Shiraz 2002 to get clear in my mind how good these three were.
Good and bad with this idea. It showed that these three were in their own way on a par with the super impressive Kalleske but I could have done without the extra half bottle, made me bloddy slow this morning!

I do alot of blind tastings right up to the highest quality and I must say the three we had last night were as good as any three I've had in recent times. All three were different but each was high class. Not sure what the mystery is with their identity but I won't blow their cover until I find out.

[KMP]

Its just a guess mind but is 3 the 2003 Kalleske shiraz? Alcohol sounds a bit light but the flavors sound about right, at least compared to the 2002 we just got through this week. I wasn't as blown way as I expected to be, but then I paid $55USD/bd!!. Will post a TN once we crack the Grenache this weekend.

Mike

[Gavin Trott]

Its just a guess mind but is 3 the 2003 Kalleske shiraz? Alcohol sounds a bit light but the flavors sound about right, at least compared to the 2002 we just got through this week. I wasn't as blown way as I expected to be, but then I paid $55USD/bd!!. Will post a TN once we crack the Grenache this weekend.

Mike

Hello

no, not the 2003 Kalleske, but of similar style and quality. The 2003 Kalleske Shiraz is released very early October.

[Adam]

Mitolo 2003's?

[Gavin Trott]

Hello

For anyone interested, Wine 1 was the

2002 Shingleback The Gate Shiraz

and

Wine 2 was the

2002 Shingleback D Block Shiraz

[Adam]

And Wine 3??

[TORB]

Hello

For anyone interested, Wine 1 was the

2002 Shingleback The Gate Shiraz

and

Wine 2 was the

2002 Shingleback D Block Shiraz

Gavin,

I tried both of these wines at CD in May. What are you doing selling them, they are crap - now stop trying to pump up demand, at this rate I wont be able to buy any.

Shingleback 2002 D Block Reserve Shiraz SA2004 will be released in the third quarter of 2004 in Australia but is available in the US for $39. Dark purple in colour with a dark hue, this wine has a bloody serious nose. Two standout features immediately become apparent from the first sip. Firstly, it has wonderful fruit and secondly, it has excellent balance and construction. Pure, rich, strong fruit is inky black and stains the fillings with blackberry, liquorice, 80% Lindt chocolate, black plum, and yet it is not over ripe or prune flavoured. It is a full-bodied wine with a tight, solid, layered, construction and well-developed complexity that almost has that very rare ‘wow factor’. Rated as Excellent with *** for value, the rating should improve as the wine matures in 2009 and beyond. My tasting sheet has the notation “note to self, buy it!”

Shingleback 2002 The Gate Shiraz SA2004 is only available in the US and sells for US$32. Very dark purple in colour with a bright hue, the wine has a lovely mouth feel. Pure, strong fruit with a glorious intensity of well-controlled extraction produces rich mulberry, plum, liquorice, black cherry and coffee that finishes with good persistence. The wine is muscular in weight, with a tight, elegant, seamless, solid construction and a harmonious, refined complexity. This is a seriously enjoyable drop that drinks well now and is perfect for restaurant dining. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value, if you are in the US and see it on a wine list, do not hesitate - grab it.

[Gavin Trott]

Hello

For anyone interested, Wine 1 was the

2002 Shingleback The Gate Shiraz

and

Wine 2 was the

2002 Shingleback D Block Shiraz

Gavin,

I tried both of these wines at CD in May. What are you doing selling them, they are crap - now stop trying to pump up demand, at this rate I wont be able to buy any.

.

Buy 'em from me of course, there's the answer!

[KMP]

Gavin:

Any reason why we still don't know the identity of wine No. 3?

Mike

[Gavin Trott]

Gavin:

Any reason why we still don't know the identity of wine No. 3?

Mike

Its a wine I MAY get some to sell, but its a tiny production and its, as yet, uncertain. As such, for now, its just between ourselves.