I've been poor about keeping and posting notes lately, which disappoints me. Here are some recent reds, all prices in U.S. $.
'01 Oliver's Taranga Shiraz (McLaren Vale) - Dark black purple with a hint of reddening. Classic McLaren Vale
Shiraz with licorice, blackberries, blueberries and in this wine a hint of earthy rhonish character. Wonderful
aromatics and extremely mouth filling flavors, the only thing missing from this wine is a longer finish.
Rated as Highly Recommended. $28
'02 Elderton Shiraz (Barossa) - Extremely dark black/purple. Seems Opaque. Powerful nose of licorice,
brush, mixed black fruits and dark chocolate with a wiff of VA. Similar flavors in a very unevolved style, with dark
chocolate predominant. Fairly good, spirity finish of dark black fruits. Needs at least a year more of
bottle age. Rated as Highly Recommended (just) $23
'00 Best's Bin 0 Shiraz (Victoria) - dark reddish purple, with some transparency. Interesting nose of leather,
mixed dark berries, cassis and dark chocolate. Similar flavors, adding in earth and brush. Quite
complex and different than a typical S.A. Shiraz, it is a fun change of pace. Nice, long leathery
finish with licorice, cassis and earth. Rated as Highly Recommended (just) $16, a good deal for Best's.
'95 Mt. Langhi Ghiran Shiraz (Victoria) - Unfortunately my last bottle. Dark reddish color with some purple. Took a half hour to open up, but then aromas of plums, raisins and earth. Rich, sweet flavors of plum, raisin, iodine, earth and licorice.
Long, sweet finish of raisins, iodine and earth. This has years to go, great wine. Rated as Excellent. $28
'98 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Canary Hill (Oregon) - My second try at this, and I can't help feeling ripped off (again).
This has simple black cherry and earth flavors, with very little in the way of aromatics or length. I've had $12
bottles of Pinot that could compete with this. Rated as Agreeable. $29
'02 Shingleback Shiraz (McLaren Vale) - dark, dense reddish purple, almost black. The first bottle was astringent
and harsh. The second bottle was much better. Smells of licorice, earthy barnyard and dark chocolate
along with red berries. Flavors of red berries, licorice, dark chocolate and an unusual marzipan/earthy
note. Good licorice and red berry finish. Rated as Recommended. $16
'94 Philip Togni Cabernet (Napa) Finally retasted at age 10, per Mr. Togni : Dark black ruby with a hint of purple. Reticent but interesting aromatics of brush, tobacco and cassis. Elegant, complex flavors of
tobacco, cassis, brush, herbs and a hint of leather amidst powdery tannins. I don't detect bell pepper, a complaint among some Togni drinkers. Long finish of cassis and licorice. Tastes much more like a Bordeaux now than when tasted 7 years ago. This seems to have many years to go, and is a beautiful wine. Rated as Excellent.
'02 Turley Zinfandel Dragon Zinfandel - really dark, dense purple. Powerful nose of black pepper, blackberry brandy and marzipan.
Flavors of black pepper, blackberries, brandy and dark chocolate with some alcoholic burn. Probably the most peppery wine I've had. Decent finish of black fruits slightly obscured by alcohol. I'm told the next day this smoothed out and was a very seemless wine. Rated as Recommended for first day.
'99 Le Sec (Perraud) Cornas - dark, fairly clear ruby colored. Wonderful scents of leather, pine forest and
brush and dark berries. Similar flavors, with a distinctive leathery, forest floor taste with dark
cherries poking out. Almost like a Pinot and Bandol mixed together. Long leathery finish. Very nice wine,
the only thing reducing the score a little was that it faded a bit on days 2-3.
Rated as Highly Recommended, almost Excellent. $25
'96 Orlando Centenary Hill Shiraz (Barossa) - my second try at this, and it remains an awesome wine from a great vintage.
Dark black, reddish purple color. Some translucency. Wonderful, highly aromatic nose of licorice, plums, prunes, dark chocolate, and spices. Spicey flavors of licorice, plum, blackberry, dark chocolate, vanilla oak and marzipan. Long, long (several minutes) spicey, plummy finish. Just great complexity and length on this wine. Rated as Outstanding. $32
'98 Rosemount Mt. Blue Shiraz/Cab - Caught in an awkward stage perhaps ? Still extremely dense blackish purple. Fairly
tannic, powerful aromas and flavors of licorice, leather, shoe polish and blackberries. Long, tannic finish that is somewhat astringent. Not bad, but not like 2 years ago. Rated as Recommended. $34
'00 Henry's Drive Reserve Shiraz (Padthaway) - Pretty enjoyable. Dark dense purple. Aromas and flavors of dark chocolate, plums, blackberries and marzipan in a very rich, full bodied format. Doesn't taste stewed, which has flawed many Sparky wines of late. Good length finish of dark chocolate and plums. Rated as Highly Recommended. $32
'02 Marquis-Phillips Cabernet S2 (Padthaway) - Tastes like the MP regular shiraz. Stewed plum, prune, cassis
and marzipan smells and flavors in a medium bodied wine, fairly short finish. Rated as Agreeable+. $27
Some misc. impressions on some value selections
'01 Jacob's Creek Reserve Cab - decent color and concentration, but little varietal character. Buy Wynn's Black Label instead. Rated as Agreeable.
'01 Jacob's Creek Reserve Shiraz - Better concentration than your average quaffer, but little to distinguish it. Rated as Recommended.
'00 Wynn's Black Label Cab - Not quite the '98 or '99, but still excellent and great value. Getting better with age. Rated as Recommended+.
'02 Jim Barry Lodge Hill Shiraz (Clare) - dark dense purple, with scents of blackberries, kirsch and cassis.
Similar flavors in a very full bodied format. Good blackberry, earth aftertaste. Good value at $13. Rated as Recommended.
