Opened on Halloween night:
This was a gift from my friend Allen in Sydney, a sommelier and a wacky wino. I've always thought Allen's wine preferences were a bit masochistic and rarely traditional, so I knew this wine was not to be underestimated.
This wine was a behemoth of sweet jammy fruit, and after 8 hours decantation to my first taste it wasn't budging much. It started opening up at hour TEN, yes ten hours later - 2 am PST !
Colour: Dense black core, thick tears that seemed almost port-like in viscosity.
Nose: Cherry cough syrup, jammy currant, leathery earth, dusty tree stem, spice of cinnamon and nutmeg.
Palate: Mocha and soft sweet vanillin, red cherry and cassis, hints of sweet black German licorice
Finish: Long savoury tannins and rich sweet fruit. It's hard to describe a wine of such sheer power and intensity as subtleties are masked by gigantic almost naughty fruit. The oak was so distinguished though, compared to the entirety of the wine it was hard not to take notice of that. The oak was the only delicate feature of this wine and it was the last thing you taste as the long sexy finish dissipated after near a full minute.
Amazing!
94-96 pnts
Cheers,
Mishy
Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz '00
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Guest - Justin