TN: Clarendon Hills 'Clarendon' Syrah Moritz vineyard 2005

[Waiters Friend]

Decanted a couple of hours before service, with considerable sediment filtered out.

Purple black in colour. A pungent nose of blackberries and stewed black plums, to the point that other characters (vanilla, cloves, furniture polish) are partially buried beneath the fruit. Perhaps a touch of VA, but not sure.

The fruit characters continue to dominate the palate, and there's also a strong raisin flavour. There's a reasonable amount of acid here, which is felt mostly around the sides of the tongue, and tannins are integrated and soft. Finish is long and full and there's and overwhelming sense that this is a huge wine.

I don't have enough experience with Clarendon Hills wines (although I seem to be rapidly acquiring it) so it's hard to tell at what stage of development this (already eighteen year old) wine is currently. Judging by the colour and the sheer quantity of fruit, I would suggest this isn't going to fall over any time soon, but will it improve? Does anyone have more experience with this (and other Clarendon Hill wines), and can advise the group?

Cheers
Allan