Back on October 1st, I hooked up with a buddy of mine at a local tavern to casually taste through some Shiraz.
2005 Pine Ridge Chardonnay Epitome. This was purchased from the restaurant wine list. There are aromas of pebbles, chalk dust, lemon candy, vanilla crème brulee and a sort of grassy meadow note on the nose. In the mouth, it is medium-bodied, with a good viscous texture, lots of plump lemony fruit and a nicely integrated toasty spiced oak note. It has some decent zing on the lemon peel finish to keep it refreshing.
We continued on with four Shirazes from Barossa. All were quite different from one another, with each one highlighting a different style and facet of the Syrah grape.
2000 Barossa Valley Estate Shiraz Ebenezer Barossa Valley. The nose seems to have some reduction, with intense pungent eucalyptus, canned tomato paste, baked cherries and cheesy funk at first. Later glasses seem more plummy, with blackberry liqueur and some port notes. Three hours or so into it, the wine finally seems to have settled down some, with a strong cedar plank note emerging. In the mouth, this is rich and exotic, with a plush, velvety feel. Flavors include blueberry compote, boysenberry syrup and all kinds of briery blue and black berries. It is nicely textured and is beginning to show some layering. I recommend a relatively long decant if opened any time soon.
2001 Barton Vale Shiraz The Challenger Barossa Valley. This has by far the brightest, freshest nose of the four wines, with aromas of cedar sawdust, soft eucalyptus, crème de cassis, fresh mixed berries, and just a hint of interesting funk lurking below. This also seems to have by far the smoothest palate presence of the four. It is silky smooth, with an excellent inner mouthfeel and perfume. There is really nice balance to this medium-bodied, solidly-structured, but open-knit wine. Flavors focus on raspberry, cedar and dusty cocoa. This dances a beautiful dance in the mouth and finishes with fine, dusty, chocolaty tannins. An excellent effort, and my Wine of the Night.
2002 Massena Shiraz The Eleventh Hour Barossa Valley. Whoa, Mr. Ed is in the house. The nose features aromas of strong horse manure, dirt pile, old sweaty leather and blackberry preserves. Later in the evening, it folds in a big hit of cracked black pepper, along with notes of tire tread, wet shale, espresso grounds and dark crunchy autumn leaves. In the mouth, it is initially hard as a rock and very unyielding. With time, though, it opens a bit to reveal a wine that is viscous and offers a very expansive, softly-grained texture. It is dark fruited, with a sense of lift and amplitude that grows with time and a texture that smooths out. Overall, though, it comes across as a bit aloof in its sophisticated rusticity right now. I would suggest holding.
2005 Kaesler Shiraz Stonehorse Barossa Valley. Of the four wines, this one seems the most like a young Northern Rhone in aromatics, offering up scents of cracked black pepper, dried meat, tar, blackcurrant, bacon fat and star anise. About an hour later, there are bell pepper aromas, along with a baseball card bubblegum kind of thing going on. In the mouth, it is dense and chewy, but with a nice juicy twang to keep it fresh. It is not too alcoholic, but the berry fruit is warm and gooey. There are also flavors of chocolate brownie, which are reflected in the fudgy tannins on the rich, warm finish. I’d like to revisit this young wine in 5 years to see where it heads.
Later, we decided to open one more bottle:
1995 Richard Hamilton Shiraz Old Vine Reserve McLaren Vale. On the nose, this wine is much more high-toned and red-fruited than the earlier quartet, with scents of framboise, crème de cassis, red pixie stick dust (or maybe Smarties candies?), sweet sous bois, and a certain nettles/stalks note. It is quite smooth in the mouth, with lots of red fruits and a mouth-puckering tartness, but also a richer, sweeter bass note underneath all of that. It is moderately explosive, and exhibits some sneaky fine tannins that tighten up on the sharp finish.
-Michael