The first red tasting of the year was a review of some 2004 Shiraz, and while we were expecting a bunch of new releases this time these just happened to be all from the same vintage. The voting as usual was pretty scattered, and wasn’t helped when one controversial wine was left in at voting time despite just under half of us thinking it was mildly corked and should have been removed. Overall the top six wines were very good and fairly evenly matched, while the last three didn’t have many fans and shared all the least preferred votes.
As usual all the following wines were double decanted and breathed up to two hours prior to serving, and then tasted blind; after about an hour all 13 participants voted for their most preferred, two next preferred and their least preferred drops. The panel ranking is based on first preferred votes counting for double in the calculations.
2004 Eldredge Blue Chip Clare Shiraz (screwcap) $30: Dark to inky red/purple colour. Plummy/raspberry fruit and some sweet chocolate with just a hint of raisin; very juicy palate of sweet blackberry/fruitcake and chocolate, olive and black pepper characters. The pure, sweet fruit really stood out in this one, so I wasn’t surprised it scored so well.
My ranking: 2nd place
Panel ranking: =1st place
Votes: 4 most, 2 second & third, 0 least preferred
2004 Soul Growers Barossa Valley Shiraz $48: Dark to inky red/purple. There’s an abundance of blackberry on the nose of this too, but it’s slightly darker/more briary at first, followed by a fair dose of coconut/buttery oak, chocolate and herbs. Dark chocolate on entry of the palate followed by ripe blackberries and some black olive, finishing long and very tannic. This was always in the running for a vote from me and was a little unlucky to miss out, although it got one from almost everyone else.
My ranking: 4th place
Panel ranking: =1st place
Votes: 1 most, 8 second & third, 0 least preferred
2004 Warrabilla Reserve Shiraz $25: Dark to very inky purple/red. Over extracted nose of vanillin oak and a hint of nail polish remover (EA), later overly jammy and reeking of vegemite. The palate’s better, a peppery cherry entry followed by plummy fruit, but while it hid it’s 16% alcohol pretty well the finish was surprisingly short.
My ranking: 7th place
Panel ranking: 7th place
Votes: 1 most, 2 second & third, 3 least preferred
2004 Kay Bros. Amery Hillside Shiraz $33 (screwcap): Dark purple/red. Green/breezy nose of mint, cherry and white pepper, looking very cool-climate; mid-weight palate featuring and equally green entry, followed by raspberry/plums, and finishing sweet and a little dry again with white pepper. I was convinced this had to be a Victorian wine throughout the tasting!
My ranking: 3rd place
Panel ranking: =4th place
Votes: 1 most, 3 second & third, 0 least preferred
2004 Kimbolton Langhorne Creek Shiraz $20: Dark to inky purple/red. Damp nose scalped by TCA, there’s some resemblance of earthy fruit underneath but the cork taint is stronger with breathing. The palate’s black cherry/plum fruit was equally scalped by the fault, bordering drinkable but extremely short. I lobbied hard with a few others to have this removed but it remained, so I gave it some leniency on the chance it could have been a decent wine if not for the fault and besides, one wine was actually even less drinkable.
My ranking: 8th place
Panel ranking: 9th place
Votes: 0 most, 1 second & third, 5 least preferred
2004 Winter Creek Barossa Shiraz $25 (screwcap): Dark to very inky purple. Ripe, pure blackberry fruit at first before turning slightly green, followed by vanillin/caramel oak; a little varnishy at first, but with breathing the palate came into shape with cherry/plum fruit and a hint of tobacco, finishing clean and well balanced.
My ranking: 5th place
Panel ranking: =4th place
Votes: 1 most, 3 second & third, 0 least preferred
2004 JaJa Barossa Shiraz $30 (screwcap): Very inky purple/red with a glowing rim. Sweet nose of ripe, chocolaty Barossa fruit and shredded coconut; cherry/cola entry with a little VA, followed by surprisingly dry blackberries and some minty alcohol, finishing peppery with a hint of orange rind.
My ranking: 6th place
Panel ranking: 3rd place
Votes: 2 most, 5 second and third, 0 least preferred
2004 Glaymond Landrace Shiraz Mataro $35: Dark to very inky red/purple. Awful, stinky nose full of burnt rubber and tar; the palate’s just as bad with searing 16.5% alcohol heat to go with those rubber characters – I and four others ranked this worse than the corked wine, yet amazingly two panellists rated it their most preferred!
My ranking: 9th place
Panel ranking: 8th place
Votes: 2 most, 0 second & third, 5 least preferred
2004 Spence’s Notron Estate Arapiles Run Shiraz $35: Very dark purple. Sweet, complex nose of tobacco spit, lifted plum/black cherry, boiled lollies and black pepper, very classy and very perfumed. I thought the palate was the classiest of the bunch too, earthy/sweet cherry fruit with tobacco, black pepper and olive, finishing the longest with wonderful powdery tannins.
My ranking: 1st place
Panel ranking: 6th place
Votes: 1 most, 2 second & third, 0 least preferred
Cheers,
Ian
TN: Blacktongues - More 2004 Shiraz 2/5/2007
TN: Blacktongues - More 2004 Shiraz 2/5/2007
Last edited by n4sir on Thu May 10, 2007 10:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
Forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone.
I wasn't at this tasting but for once I'll have to agree with Ian, the 2004 Norton Estate Arapiles Run Shiraz is a very good wine. I've drunk several since Xmas and thoroughly enjoyed each one.
The winery gets a big rave in the Halliday bible and is worth seeking out.
No SA distribution so I had to get my bottles from the dreaded Dan's.
The winery gets a big rave in the Halliday bible and is worth seeking out.
No SA distribution so I had to get my bottles from the dreaded Dan's.
Cheers - Steve
If you can see through it, it's not worth drinking!
If you can see through it, it's not worth drinking!
Bloody corks.
I'd say you had a very bad bottleof the Warrabilla.
There is no EA etc, it won best NE red trophy etc.It was $19.80 to club members. By far the cheapest wine there.
PS To compare apples with apples you should have had the premium parola's Shiraz ($30).
Cheers
Smithy
home of the mega-red
Are you sure there wasn't any confusion with the bottles or notes here? Those notes on the Kay Bros 2004 Hillside sound very strange. Nothing green, mid-weight or Victorian to me, and I don't recall any mint. While I don't exactly share Mr Walsh's palate, here's his review of the 2004 Hillside:
"Aromas of blackberry, aniseed, earth and leather. It spends two years in oak but there is just a light cedar polish that adds gloss to this delicious savoury smelling wine. On the full bodied palate I taste rich dark fruit, leather, dark chocolate and aniseed. Nothing sweet or confected here. Strong but fine supple tannins and good freshness. Long dry earthy finish. I often find that the best of wines stay around in your mind long after tasting them. They have resonance. I can still hear this one faintly in the background singing to me…’go on…95 points..you know you want to..’. OK OK. Done."
That doesn't sound like your bottle at all.
"Aromas of blackberry, aniseed, earth and leather. It spends two years in oak but there is just a light cedar polish that adds gloss to this delicious savoury smelling wine. On the full bodied palate I taste rich dark fruit, leather, dark chocolate and aniseed. Nothing sweet or confected here. Strong but fine supple tannins and good freshness. Long dry earthy finish. I often find that the best of wines stay around in your mind long after tasting them. They have resonance. I can still hear this one faintly in the background singing to me…’go on…95 points..you know you want to..’. OK OK. Done."
That doesn't sound like your bottle at all.
Paul.
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KMP
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smithy wrote:8) Bloody corks.
I'd say you had a very bad bottleof the Warrabilla.
There is no EA etc, it won best NE red trophy etc.It was $19.80 to club members. By far the cheapest wine there.
PS To compare apples with apples you should have had the premium parola's Shiraz ($30).
Cheers
Smithy
No Smithy, the 2004 Parola's Shiraz are corked as well!
Was looking forward to my first last weekend and there it was - damp cardboard and little else and worse by the next day. Off to get another one later this week.
Mike
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KMP
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- Joined: Sat Apr 17, 2004 4:02 am
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pstarr wrote:Are you sure there wasn't any confusion with the bottles or notes here? Those notes on the Kay Bros 2004 Hillside sound very strange. Nothing green, mid-weight or Victorian to me, and I don't recall any mint. While I don't exactly share Mr Walsh's palate, here's his review of the 2004 Hillside:
"Aromas of blackberry, aniseed, earth and leather. It spends two years in oak but there is just a light cedar polish that adds gloss to this delicious savoury smelling wine. On the full bodied palate I taste rich dark fruit, leather, dark chocolate and aniseed. Nothing sweet or confected here. Strong but fine supple tannins and good freshness. Long dry earthy finish. I often find that the best of wines stay around in your mind long after tasting them. They have resonance. I can still hear this one faintly in the background singing to me…’go on…95 points..you know you want to..’. OK OK. Done."
That doesn't sound like your bottle at all.
Had one within the last week and except for the cedar and leather this note is similar to my impression - although I'm not sure its a 95 point wine. But nothing cool climate about it at all.
Mike
KMP wrote:smithy wrote:8) Bloody corks.
I'd say you had a very bad bottleof the Warrabilla.
There is no EA etc, it won best NE red trophy etc.It was $19.80 to club members. By far the cheapest wine there.
PS To compare apples with apples you should have had the premium parola's Shiraz ($30).
Cheers
Smithy
No Smithy, the 2004 Parola's Shiraz are corked as well!
Was looking forward to my first last weekend and there it was - damp cardboard and little else and worse by the next day. Off to get another one later this week.
Mike
I had a corked Parola's Durif 2004 last week too, must have been a few dud corks in the batch that year, good move going to Diam.
Cheers
Brian
Life's too short to drink white wine and red wine is better for you too! :-)
Brian
Life's too short to drink white wine and red wine is better for you too! :-)
pstarr wrote:Are you sure there wasn't any confusion with the bottles or notes here? Those notes on the Kay Bros 2004 Hillside sound very strange. Nothing green, mid-weight or Victorian to me, and I don't recall any mint. While I don't exactly share Mr Walsh's palate, here's his review of the 2004 Hillside:
"Aromas of blackberry, aniseed, earth and leather. It spends two years in oak but there is just a light cedar polish that adds gloss to this delicious savoury smelling wine. On the full bodied palate I taste rich dark fruit, leather, dark chocolate and aniseed. Nothing sweet or confected here. Strong but fine supple tannins and good freshness. Long dry earthy finish. I often find that the best of wines stay around in your mind long after tasting them. They have resonance. I can still hear this one faintly in the background singing to me…’go on…95 points..you know you want to..’. OK OK. Done."
That doesn't sound like your bottle at all.
Grand Cru wrote:I bought 2004 Hillside and found it outstanding on each occasion I've drunk it. Not sure where your palates at!
Guys, don't shoot the messenger - it's a totally blind tasting and we're only told what the bottles are after the tasting, and no, the bottles, glasses and my notes weren't mixed up. I too was more than a little surprised when we were told of its identity, and that was after trying the same wine in the same format a couple of months ago:
n4sir 12/3/07 wrote:2004 Kay Bros. Amery Hillside Shiraz $35: Dark to inky purple. The nose was a bit stinky at first with some mint and barnyard, before cleaning up to show very sweet raspberry fruit. The palate’s spicy with raspberries and confectionery-like sweetness, finishing very tannic – this appeared a little flat at first but got better as the tasting progressed.
My ranking: =5th place
Panel ranking: 9th place
Votes: 0 most, 2 second & third, 2 least preferred
In that particular tasting it copped a lot of criticism from some other members of the panel for being too stinky - this time there wasn't any of that from the same people suggesting it was a bit different, although my raspberry/mint descriptions are consistent. The mid-weight palate & amount of white pepper this time was surprising which got me thinking Heathcote/Grampians - I think it just goes to show how potentially different a wine can look in a blind tasting with different wines.
Cheers,
Ian
Forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone.