The Auswine Forum

Despite being a long way from Oz, I had a rare opportunity to enjoy two passions tonight - cricket and Rockford Basket Press shiraz. The internet never ceases to amaze - I can watch the Channel 9 or Sky Sports coverage live. Nice to hear Beefy eating his "Dad's army" words so far. Anyway, to the wine....

1998 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz - at first whiff I had that sinking feeling it might be corked, but fortunately it wasn't the case. The nose eventually revealed candied and coffeed aromas, which may give an impression of being overoaked. The palate however revealed no such issue. It was trademark Barossa shiraz - lots of upfront fruit, giving way to an earthy finish. This wine is still somewhat primary, although certainly there are secondary characteristics poking through. However, it has a long way to go IMO. Based on this showing, I probably prefer it to the last bottle of the 1999 BP. Will it last as long ? Hard to say. Is it as good as the 90 and 91 ? Probably not, but a super wine nonetheless.

Yes the 99 vintage bp is becoming a real surprise packet

Thanks for the notes on the 98,s if you can believe it i have an unopened dozen that now needs Tampering with

Seems you have much better internet access than most Aussies....

I recently drank a 99 BP shiraz and I think it is shrinking voilet! The fruit is rather subdued and it certainly seems to smell and have a strong influence on the palate of leather ! Its quite savory , but no where near the best rockford BP Ive tasted at that age !
Remember 98 was a very good vintage in the barossa climatically , compared to 99 !
If you have 99 BP in your cellar I would suggest drinking sooner than later

cheers kem

99 Rockford BP will go for years and years. This and the 2004 (different styles) are two of the best vintages IMO. I think 99 is generally a great (long term) Barossa shiraz vintage.
GW

Yes, 1999 BP is a real long term gem - must thank my brother for the 99 Magnum of BP he gave me a few years back. Other Barossa 99s i have tried have been superior to their 98 siblings - Penfolds RWT, Lehmann Stonewell, Meshach were all excellent.

Tried the 05 Basket Press yet Gary? I thought the taste I had of it at cellar door last weekend saw it look very smart.

Will try one in a couple of weeks.
GW

The '99 will be a better wine than the '98 in the long term. At 8-9 years these wines are still pups, and haven't shaken their dingles yet....

kwine wrote:I recently drank a 99 BP shiraz and I think it is shrinking voilet! The fruit is rather subdued and it certainly seems to smell and have a strong influence on the palate of leather ! Its quite savory , but no where near the best rockford BP Ive tasted at that age !
Remember 98 was a very good vintage in the barossa climatically , compared to 99 !
If you have 99 BP in your cellar I would suggest drinking sooner than later

cheers kem

What was the cork Like as the bottle you had seems very advanced IMO and was ti well cellared ?(I mean Have you had the bottles since their release)

Regards Dazza

Gary,

Don't waste 'em. I bought a case of 99 from an merchant in the UK 6 months ago and have drunk 4 since (have to stop now before it's all gone).

Needs 5-10 years to peak imo depending on how you like it. Lovely stuff, very balanced indeed, so balanced you don't notice the structure.

Cheers -- Jay.

Will try one of the 2005's not the 1999. Leaving those for a couple more years yet.
GW

I had the 98 a month or so ago. This bottle still needed time and seemed a waste to open at this stage.

JamieBahrain wrote:I had the 98 a month or so ago. This bottle still needed time and seemed a waste to open at this stage.

Hey Jamie did you enjoy it ? Thats really all that matters

Hi Dazza

I felt the bottle I consumed a bit of a waste. It was drunk too early and was a few years away from ' good approachability '.

I find mature Basket Press to be one of the world's great wines- and certainly one of the world's greatest bargains.

I'm drinking 97's & 95's at the moment. Almost finished my 00's which was an admiarble effort considering the vintage!

JamieBahrain wrote:Hi Dazza

I felt the bottle I consumed a bit of a waste. It was drunk too early and was a few years away from ' good approachability '.

I find mature Basket Press to be one of the world's great wines- and certainly one of the world's greatest bargains.

I'm drinking 97's & 95's at the moment. Almost finished my 00's which was an admiarble effort considering the vintage!

Thanks for that Jamie ,The 97 vintage i have really enjoyed and same with the 2000 , I think one of the main bonus's with harder vintages is alot of them drink sooner and fill in the gaps whilst waiting for great vintages to mature > Boy if they were all good we would never drink the wine