Tasted Blind - Barossa Shiraz 1998 Showdown
Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2004 7:33 pm
Lineup: Grange, Meshach, Stonewell, Command & Octavius (12 participants)
1) The most profound nose - creammy vanilla, coconut & toffee. Blackfruits, polished tannins with lively aciditty.
Big but well balance. Excellent lenght. (Octavius ?)
2) Bigger, darker and riper than the earlier wine Supple, giving away slightly in structure. Found it
on the verge of being too stewy(jammy) (Command?)
3) The weakest in the line-up as compared. After tasting the othes this wine was pale and a disapointment.. (Meschach?)
4) Initially 'crushed ants' aromas. Soneone mentioned "roaches" Took the longest time to open up. Once the aromas blew away it revealed plenty of depth on the nose. Massively structure, tannic, this wine is built to last! Huge explosive palate and the finish seems to last forever. ((This has gotta be the Grange))
5) Second biggest wine of the flight. Marvellous nose, palate and finishing. Rich and plush. A very complete wine in every respect. Can't asked for more in a super premium Barossa Shiraz. (Stonewell?)
Wine 1 - Octavius, 2 - Stonewell, 3 - Meshach, 4 - Grange & 5 - Command.
My favourite - 4,5,1,2,3 Grp. - 1,5,4,2,3
Comments: The general consensus found Grange too imposing eventhough it's the most profound and impressive wine of the evening. They prefered the all rounder Octavius followed very closely by Command by a whisker. Everyone agreed on the last 2 choices. The Mechach on it's own may have seen better days but in this line-up, a big letdown.
1) The most profound nose - creammy vanilla, coconut & toffee. Blackfruits, polished tannins with lively aciditty.
Big but well balance. Excellent lenght. (Octavius ?)
2) Bigger, darker and riper than the earlier wine Supple, giving away slightly in structure. Found it
on the verge of being too stewy(jammy) (Command?)
3) The weakest in the line-up as compared. After tasting the othes this wine was pale and a disapointment.. (Meschach?)
4) Initially 'crushed ants' aromas. Soneone mentioned "roaches" Took the longest time to open up. Once the aromas blew away it revealed plenty of depth on the nose. Massively structure, tannic, this wine is built to last! Huge explosive palate and the finish seems to last forever. ((This has gotta be the Grange))
5) Second biggest wine of the flight. Marvellous nose, palate and finishing. Rich and plush. A very complete wine in every respect. Can't asked for more in a super premium Barossa Shiraz. (Stonewell?)
Wine 1 - Octavius, 2 - Stonewell, 3 - Meshach, 4 - Grange & 5 - Command.
My favourite - 4,5,1,2,3 Grp. - 1,5,4,2,3
Comments: The general consensus found Grange too imposing eventhough it's the most profound and impressive wine of the evening. They prefered the all rounder Octavius followed very closely by Command by a whisker. Everyone agreed on the last 2 choices. The Mechach on it's own may have seen better days but in this line-up, a big letdown.