TN: Various Shiraz
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2004 9:55 am
Tasted over about 90 minutes at a local tasting bar, from newly opened bottles. No point in describing color, every one of these was the densest color of ripe blackberrys, impenetrable. My scores are on the hedonistic fruit-bomb Barossa scale, not meant to be comparable to any other wines.
<b>2002 Kaesler Shiraz "Stonehorse"</b>
Concentrated, ripe, tar, licorice, a bit of oak coming through; good finish. Relative to the wines below, this is excellent value. This is a massive, but conventional 500-pounder.
<b>2002 Massena Shiraz "11th Hour"</b>
Distinctive from the rest in its very high-toned nose: floral, lavendar, rose garden, perfume/face powder/sweet; dense, ripe, and concentrated, dominated by smoky tar and licorice. Use this 2000-lb Barossa bunker-buster to take out errant dictators, or impacted molars.
<b>2001 Greenock Creek Shiraz "Alice's"</b>
A peculiar nose, with something I couldn't place, not Eucalyptus, almost petrol; palate continues in the theme of the first two wines: dark, dense, ripe, licorice, good finish. Ahh, this is the dirty bomb, meant to cause mayhem but only minor physical damage.
<b>2002 Amon-Ra Shiraz "Barossa"</b>
OK, let's ratchet up the scale another notch: more tar, licorice, smoke, blueberry/blackberry, a powerhouse; fantastic, long finish, with noticable, but not intrusive, oak. If not for the Roenfeldt, this might have been the biggest, densest wine I have ever tasted. We're Atomic now, into the megatons.
<b>2001 Torbreck Shiraz "Run Rig"</b>
Gorgeous floral nose but without the perfumey sweetness of the Massena; incredible lush fruit, great depth and balance, lovely finish. We've moved a bit away from the ripe, porty, tarry style now, this wine seems almost tame in comparison to the monsters around it - but only in direct comparison, it is still huge. This is the Neutron Bomb of the bunch, exploding without the direct destruction but attacking in more subtle ways to overpower you nevertheless. Really a beautiful wine, and my favorite of the bunch for something I would want to drink more than once.
<b>1998 Greenock Creek Shiraz "Roenfeldt Road"</b>
Amazing nose, floral, almost port-like. On the palate, it starts out very nicely, then grows slowly in intensity over many seconds until it explodes in a crescendo of richness, tar, licorice, blackberry, raisin, prune, with moderate tannins in an attempt to reign in some kind of balance. The finish went on and on, easily 30 seconds, and I could still taste it clearly 5 minutes later. I have never had a wine like this. Never. Nothing even close. Well, maybe the 2000 Graham's or Noval Port? This is beyond Atomic, into Thermonuclear - you use this to take out an atol.
In all seriousness, these were all quite amazing wines. I would never try to drink one with a meal, but it would be fun to sip through a winter evening in front of the fire. Stylistically, all except for perhaps the Run Rig were nearly identical in style, varying only in the level of intensity. All had modest to at most moderate tannins. They may drink well for a number of years, but hard to imagine them improving or developing additional complexity.
FWIW, I did take a look at the available Parker notes for these wines (Kaesler, Massena, Amon-Ra) and have to say his descriptions were dead on in each case.
Regards,
Alan
<b>2002 Kaesler Shiraz "Stonehorse"</b>
Concentrated, ripe, tar, licorice, a bit of oak coming through; good finish. Relative to the wines below, this is excellent value. This is a massive, but conventional 500-pounder.
<b>2002 Massena Shiraz "11th Hour"</b>
Distinctive from the rest in its very high-toned nose: floral, lavendar, rose garden, perfume/face powder/sweet; dense, ripe, and concentrated, dominated by smoky tar and licorice. Use this 2000-lb Barossa bunker-buster to take out errant dictators, or impacted molars.
<b>2001 Greenock Creek Shiraz "Alice's"</b>
A peculiar nose, with something I couldn't place, not Eucalyptus, almost petrol; palate continues in the theme of the first two wines: dark, dense, ripe, licorice, good finish. Ahh, this is the dirty bomb, meant to cause mayhem but only minor physical damage.
<b>2002 Amon-Ra Shiraz "Barossa"</b>
OK, let's ratchet up the scale another notch: more tar, licorice, smoke, blueberry/blackberry, a powerhouse; fantastic, long finish, with noticable, but not intrusive, oak. If not for the Roenfeldt, this might have been the biggest, densest wine I have ever tasted. We're Atomic now, into the megatons.
<b>2001 Torbreck Shiraz "Run Rig"</b>
Gorgeous floral nose but without the perfumey sweetness of the Massena; incredible lush fruit, great depth and balance, lovely finish. We've moved a bit away from the ripe, porty, tarry style now, this wine seems almost tame in comparison to the monsters around it - but only in direct comparison, it is still huge. This is the Neutron Bomb of the bunch, exploding without the direct destruction but attacking in more subtle ways to overpower you nevertheless. Really a beautiful wine, and my favorite of the bunch for something I would want to drink more than once.
<b>1998 Greenock Creek Shiraz "Roenfeldt Road"</b>
Amazing nose, floral, almost port-like. On the palate, it starts out very nicely, then grows slowly in intensity over many seconds until it explodes in a crescendo of richness, tar, licorice, blackberry, raisin, prune, with moderate tannins in an attempt to reign in some kind of balance. The finish went on and on, easily 30 seconds, and I could still taste it clearly 5 minutes later. I have never had a wine like this. Never. Nothing even close. Well, maybe the 2000 Graham's or Noval Port? This is beyond Atomic, into Thermonuclear - you use this to take out an atol.
In all seriousness, these were all quite amazing wines. I would never try to drink one with a meal, but it would be fun to sip through a winter evening in front of the fire. Stylistically, all except for perhaps the Run Rig were nearly identical in style, varying only in the level of intensity. All had modest to at most moderate tannins. They may drink well for a number of years, but hard to imagine them improving or developing additional complexity.
FWIW, I did take a look at the available Parker notes for these wines (Kaesler, Massena, Amon-Ra) and have to say his descriptions were dead on in each case.
Regards,
Alan