TN: Peel Estate Shiraz 2005

[Waiters Friend]

G'day

Almost 5 years ago, I hosted a vertical of this wine spanning 15 years. http://forum.auswine.com.au/viewtopic.php?f ... az#p128371. The group reckoned the drinking window for this wine is 10-14 years from vintage, and it's generally not released until 6 years of age. So, this wine is allegedly falling just outside the window.

The group's tasting note at the time was:

Peel Estate Shiraz 2005: A hot nose, with some cloves, meatiness / beef jerky, black pepper, and some tasters detected a bilgy / diesel aspect to the nose. The palate is more savoury than younger vintages, with high acidity ('crunchy' according to one taster) and some minerality and elegance (yes, group tasting notes can be schizophrenic). 2005 was a very warm year and it showed in the apparent alcohol heat. After all that, the word 'pristine' was mentioned. Go figure.

At 15 years, the wine has developed to the point where my tasting note now is much less confusing! The nose isn't especially hot, and there's lots of stewed red plums, cloves, red fruits and, apart from some leather, is quite fruit-dominant. The palate is also mostly about the fruit, and there's some fruit sweetness, with tannins fully integrated, and supporting acid. The savoury characters referred to 5 years ago are less prominent, and are mostly limited to leather. It's a full bodied wine, and is changing in the glass (decanted an hour before service). Great length and some richness.

Not likely to improve, but this was supposedly 'outside the window' anyway. Excellent shiraz, full but not too heavy.

Cheers
Allan