TN: 2001 Dalwhinnie Moonambel Shiraz

[Gianna]

I have the 2002 in the cellar and tried a 2001 bottle today over lunch.
(roast duck, with a side risotto of braised veal, asparagus and truffle, and yes, it was damn delicious).........

Color was hot purple, a young vibrant looking Victorian shiraz.

Nose was spicy, pepper, herbs and dark plums. Not overly inspiring, but certainly pleasant. (decanted for 1 hr)

Taste was smooth and sweet fruit was the dominant taste. There were ripe cherries, and a hint of mint and/or menthol in the front palate. There did not seem to be any oak influence in the taste.

I think that the 2001 is a young drinking wine, to be consumed over the next year or two, not for the long haul.

Quite satisfying. 89pts.

[FatBoy]

I have the 2002 in the cellar and tried a 2001 bottle today over lunch.
(roast duck, with a side risotto of braised veal, asparagus and truffle, and yes, it was damn delicious).........

Color was hot purple, a young vibrant looking Victorian shiraz.

Nose was spicy, pepper, herbs and dark plums. Not overly inspiring, but certainly pleasant. (decanted for 1 hr)

Taste was smooth and sweet fruit was the dominant taste. There were ripe cherries, and a hint of mint and/or menthol in the front palate. There did not seem to be any oak influence in the taste.

I think that the 2001 is a young drinking wine, to be consumed over the next year or two, not for the long haul.

Quite satisfying. 89pts.

Fair call, 2000 & 2002 are both better for mine. Dalwhinnie (with the qualified exception of 1993) has produced good shiraz EVERY year from 1990.

[Gavin Trott]

I have the 2002 in the cellar and tried a 2001 bottle today over lunch.
(roast duck, with a side risotto of braised veal, asparagus and truffle, and yes, it was damn delicious).........

Color was hot purple, a young vibrant looking Victorian shiraz.

Nose was spicy, pepper, herbs and dark plums. Not overly inspiring, but certainly pleasant. (decanted for 1 hr)

Taste was smooth and sweet fruit was the dominant taste. There were ripe cherries, and a hint of mint and/or menthol in the front palate. There did not seem to be any oak influence in the taste.

I think that the 2001 is a young drinking wine, to be consumed over the next year or two, not for the long haul.

Quite satisfying. 89pts.

Fair call, 2000 & 2002 are both better for mine. Dalwhinnie (with the qualified exception of 1993) has produced good shiraz EVERY year from 1990.

Agree re the 2000, have some in the cellar, along with the Cabernet, very good wine indeed!

2002, should I add to the cellar you think?

[FatBoy]

Fair call, 2000 & 2002 are both better for mine. Dalwhinnie (with the qualified exception of 1993) has produced good shiraz EVERY year from 1990.

Agree re the 2000, have some in the cellar, along with the Cabernet, very good wine indeed!

2002, should I add to the cellar you think?

I have. They're 10 year wines without fail (except of course the 1993). I had the 1994 last year which was right at it's prime. Reliable and enjoyable. To my untrained eye, the cabernet looks like it may be a longer lived wine than the shiraz, although I'm sure some people here will respectfully disagree.

[Gianna]

I had both the 94 and the 2002 last year and also found the 94 to be at its peak, very smooth and elegant, but perhaps lacking just a little in fruit.

The 02 is classic Dalwhinnie. Spicy, fruit driven and vibrant. Drink this year (as others have noted) or cellar for the next five and open in 2010.
I rate it as at 91/92 pts.

[Colin]

I visited the winery Oct last year to try the 2002 range. The winemaker rates 2002 as one of their best vintages, take it on trust and enjoy what you have over the next decade. Colin

[The Bulldog]

I had both the 94 and the 2002 last year and also found the 94 to be at its peak, very smooth and elegant, but perhaps lacking just a little in fruit.

The 02 is classic Dalwhinnie. Spicy, fruit driven and vibrant. Drink this year (as others have noted) or cellar for the next five and open in 2010.
I rate it as at 91/92 pts.

Are there any 94-100 pts wines in your UNKNOWN rating system????

[Gianna..]

Bulldog, I must confess to not having an official rating system as such, rather it is a "relative ranking" based on my personal tastes and using a few benchmark wines as my parameters.

Here are a few ratings of wines that I have tried recently:

1994 Greenock Creek Creek Shiraz - 95 pts
1994 Howard Park CM - 96pts (I loved this wine)
1995 Moss Wood CS - 97pts (loved this wine too)
1996 Wynns JR - 96pts
(come to think of it, I loved all of these wines........)

So, basically I try to work off these styles of quality wines, using a rather elementary relative scoring system based on color 10%, nose 25%, taste 30%, complexity 20% and finish 15%.

Did you find the Dalwhinnie a higher or lower rated wine than my score?