Rosemount Balmoral McLaren Vale Shiraz 1997

Rosemount Estate McLaren Vale Balmoral Syrah 1997

We still hold several cases (six packs) of this wine from the nineties and early millennium across nine different vintages. It's hard to believe it has been a year and a half since we last opened one of these bottles from that era ... So many wines, so little time!

As I wrote at that time,  "its time to drink up as this '97 is showing its age as the fruit starts to diminish somewhat. Looking at Cellartracker tasting notes, one writer reports this vintage still holding on while another says his is over the hill. While past its prime, this was still very much still inside the drinking window."

At this point I would say its reaching the last chapter of its drinking window. 


Dark purple colour, full aroma of perfume and fruit - the diminution of fruit continues as this wine is showing its age further with ripe concentrated plum and blackberry and black cherry fruits hanging on but giving way to ripe raisin fig tones accented by leather and wet cedar with a touch of vanilla and sweet cherry - tightly wound with a tinge of tight tannins and acid on the long fruit-filled finish.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=17074