Rosemount Balmoral McLaren Vale Syrah 1999

Rosemount Balmoral McLaren Vale Syrah 1999

We ordered a carry out pizza from Angeli's Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria. I opened from our cellar this aged vintage Aussie Shiraz for a full throttle big red.

This is one of our favorite Australian wines from this era, one that we collected going back to the 1992 vintage. We held a decade of vintages of this label including every vintage during the nineties. Over the years, we discovered and collected more Australian Shiraz' from other producers but this was one of our benchmarks. 

This 1999 vintage was one of our favorites from those early years and is one of the few remaining bottles. In those days, these were bottled in six packs which is how we bought them so we invariably had six bottles per vintage (or more).

Rosemount Estate began producing high-quality wines from its founding in 1974. Rosemount’s 1980 Show Reserve Chardonnay won a rare Double Gold Medal at the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) in London, England, establishing the company’s reputation for quality in Australia and overseas.

Rosemount purchased the 100-year-old Ryecroft winery and vineyards in 1991 and developed other vineyards in the South Central Australia McLaren Vale region, and they source fruit from these vineyards to this day.

The McLaren Vale wine region lies 40 kilometres south Adelaide, the South Australian capital. Built around the coast of the Great Australian Bight, the region has a Mediterranean feel, with its seaside location.

McLaren Vale is a diverse region boasting a mix of sub-regions with different characteristics each best-suited for different varietals, depending on their geology, soils, elevation, rainfall and distance from the sea. Over 18000 acres of the region are covered in vineyards. While 51% of the McLaren Vale vines are Shiraz, the region is also home to many other varieties including Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet, and lesser known varieties such as Grenache, Mouvèdre (Mataro), Fiano and Vermentino.  

With this 1999 vintage, Rosemount Estate was awarded Winery of the Year at the San Francisco International Wine Competition. In 2000, Rosemount Estate was awarded Winemaker of the Year and Best Australian Producer at the IWSC in London and Best Australian Producer at the International Wine Challenge (IWC), and in 2011 were awarded New World Winery of the Year from Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

Rosemount Estate’s Balmoral Syrah is a flagship label, sitting at the top of the Rosemount Estate family tree, achieving international recognition, winning both a Trophy and a Gold medal at the coveted Decanter World Wine Awards in 2011 and again in 2012 and regularly receiving 90+ points in the notable US Wine Spectator across multiple Balmoral vintages.

Balmoral is predominantly sourced from the McLaren Vale sub-region of Seaview, in the northwest corner of the region, northwest of the town center sitting above the McLaren Vale township at roughly 110 metres above sea level. The soils range from quite sandy to red clays with quite a bit of surface iron stone.

 

The Balmoral label is produced from premium parcels from carefully selected vineyard blocks (ranging from 50 to 100 years old) that produce tiny quantities of exceptional fruit that typically delivers intense depth of flavour, superb length and fine acidity with a soft, velvety tannin structure. 

 

Rosemount Estate Balmoral McLaren Vale Syrah 1999

This release was #37 of Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2002 with a rating of 93 points. It was awarded 92 points by Wine Enthusiast, and 90 points from Wine and Spirits and Jeremy Oliver.

The Winemaker Notes for this release cited: "A classic, collectable Syrah - one of the best red wines to make it over here from Australia. Made from grapes grown on 50-100 year old vineyards, this McLaren Vale classic is matured nearly two years in new American oak prior to bottling. The richly textured fruit and deep, velvety tannins interweave beautifully into a long, harmonious finish. 15 years plus cellaring potential." 

This certainly held up for the prescribed fifteen years. Here at 22 years it is holding its own, showing well, but starting to show diminution from aging. The fill level, label and most importantly the cork were all in ideal condition, considering their age. 

I started to remove the cork with a traditional corkscrew and it was a bit soft and threatened to come apart. Switching to the ahso two pronged cork puller it extracted intact. 

The color was garnet colored with some brown bricking starting to set in, medium-full bodied, the full blackberry and black currant fruits are starting to give way to the non-fruit notes of tobacco, spice box, hints of pepper, anise and black olive with tangy acidity on the lingering finish. 

RM 88 points.

My first published review of this label was back in Aug, 19, 2003 - Rosemount Estate Balmoral McLaren Vale Syrah 1999, RM 92, WS 93 SS $53, Huge forward long mouth full of currant, plum, blackberry and anise. Bigger and more robust than other recent years. Try it and see why this is one of my perennial favorites - even better this year! 

 

I published follow on reviews: Rosemount Estates Balmoral McLaren Vale Syrah 1999 - Aug, 19, 2003, Nov 23, 2002, and my most recent previous review, September 17, 2016.

 

My previous review for this wine: This vineyard is one of the few in Australia with vines dating back a hundred years. The concentrated fruit is akin to the Chateau Tanunda with its legendary 100 year old vines. The story of  we Pour Boys discovering and then capturing the US allocation of this wine is written often in these pages. 

Dark inky purple garnet colored, medium-full bodied, forward  currant, plum, blackberry fruits turning to blueberry on the mid-palate, accented by a layer of anise, raisin and fig with hints of clove and spice.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3000 

 

Fellow Cellartrackers' reviews for this label: 

12/11/2020 - bdhanna Likes this wine: 89 Points  "Just past peak. A near perfect cork after two decades in the bottle. Consumed over two days. Popped and poured this wine, it opened up quickly. On day two the fruit was still fresh, this wine had softened to reveal increased depth and integrated complexity.

Dark burgundy color with little to no oxidation and clarity was medium. Aromas of bing cherry and raspberry. Flavors of black cherry cola, black pepper, raspberry framboise, leather, and a little funk. This Syrah has a medium finish. This is my last bottle of this vintage. Always a great fruit source and a good winemaking effort."

12/31/2018 - corkus Likes this wine: 94 Points "Purple brownish color. Mint, pepper, musk and brambles on the nose. Palette of pepper, blackberry, black cherry with mint overtones and a creamy light tannic finish. Still quite a long finish with a good acid spine. The fruit is not as prominent as it was and I think it's starting to get close to the end of it's drinking window, Hint: Be careful of the cork, it's starting to crumble!"

9/12/2015 - Bsmith457 Likes this wine: 95 Points "Very dark almost black colour. On second night, aromas primarily of oak and leather. Black berry, pepper and a sweet cherry flavour. Surprisingly fresh still. Tannins have not taken over at all and the fresh fruit is still evident. Still looks like it has few years in it."

6/18/2020 - Bsmith457 Likes this wine: 93 Points "Dark dirty crimson. Dry spice, rotted wood. Sweet plum, strawberry, black cherry, coffee beans. Full body, tannin is remarkably fine. Acidity is a bit low. Some signs of oxidation when first opened, the cork broke apart but could be recovered. Recovers very well, impressive wine for its age. I was worried it would be flat but still has good flavours, even if a bit dull. It’s my last bottle, but if I had more I would be happy to open them."

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3000

https://www.rosemountestate.com/

 

 

 

 

Borsao Syrah Campo de Borja Zarihs

Bodegas Borsao Syrah Campo de Borja Zarihs/Shiraz - a collaboration of Spain and Australia Borossa 

We spent a getaway weekend in the City (Chicago) and stopped in VinChicago, a family-run wine merchant since 1934. I wrote recently that they offer and alternative to the mega-merchants with carefully selected producer's and labels at competitive prices for high QPR (quality-price-ratio) values. Their extremely knowledgeable staff consists of certified Sommelier and Advanced Sommelier. While they closed their local Naperville store location, (they still operate three Chicagoland locations), we keep in touch via their newletters and on-line presence. They deliver wine purchases or conduct curbside pick-ups at location that is conveniently near our home.

 

Visiting their retail location, we picked up several odd lot labels no longer listed on their web, and several other labels to 'try before we buy' (for cellaring). 

 

Bodegas Borsao Syrah Campo de Borja Zarihs/Shiraz 2016

 

We picked up this interesting label,

Label REVERSED
(flipped horizontally).

Zarihs (Shiraz spelled backwards!?! with a hint of the backwards "R" on the label), a collaboration between Spanish producer José Luis Chueca of Campo de Borja and Australian producer/winemaker Chris Ringland, known for Barossa Shiraz/Syrah. This is 100% single varietal Shiraz sourced from the Spanish estate. 

 

Vivino called this the Best Syrah in Spain and one of the Top 10 Syrah du Monde in 2017.

 

This the first Syrah to be planted in 2002 in the foothills of the Moncayo in the Campo de Borja, a Spanish DOP (Denominación de Origen Protegida) appellation which is located in the northwest of the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain). 

Aragon sits adjacent France, in the northeast corner of Spain, home to many rivers including the Ebro, Spain's largest river in volume, which runs west–east across the entire region through the province of Zaragoza. It is also home to the highest mountains of the Pyrenees. The Aragon region is the transition zone between the plains of the River Ebro and the mountains.  Borja is one of 16 municipalities in the The DOP wine region. 

 

The Moncayo mountain is the dominant feature of the DOP and creates a terroir and microclimate well suited to the Shiraz varietal to develop wines with a special character. The climate is continental, with Atlantic influences during the winter, notably a cold, dry wind from the northwest. In summer, there is a Mediterranean influence with temperatures varying a great deal, both on a daily and on a seasonal basis, with very low annual rainfall. The vineyards are planted on a series of high plateaus at heights ranging between 350 m and 750 m above sea level. 

 

The Shiraz vines are selected for the terroir, planted planted to take advantage of the soil, sun and the uniqueness of the Cierzo (a brisk wind that blows down from the northwest over 200+ days of the year), which freshens the grapes from bloom to peak maturity. The vineyard´s altitude and limestone soil give the Syrah a pleasant acidity. 

 

Zarihs is a 100% Syrah/Shiraz single-varietal, aged for 12 months in 40% American oak barrels, and 60% in stainless steel tanks.

 

This label was ranked #28 on Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2020 with 93 pts., and was awarded 91 pts. by James Suckling and 90 pts. by Vinous.

Wine Advocate called it “Borja wine with an Australian accent”, and Heraldo de Aragón, "A Borsao with French stile (sic)”.   

VinChicago tasting notes:

• Appearance: opaque red-black. Crimson-purple rim.
• Aroma: powerful impression of blackberries, with a hint of wood smoke and sweet vanilla.
• The nose begins to open up and develops notes of dark chocolate.
• Palate: the initial impact is very full bodied, with a plush, soft structure.
• Flavours of dark berries dominate; wild blackberries and dried plums, with notes of espresso coffee.

Winemaker notes on this release, "An opaque red-black color with a crimson-purple rim. On the nose, a powerful impression of blackberries, with a hint of wood smoke and sweet vanilla. The nose begins to open up and develops notes of dark chocolate. The initial impact is very full bodied, with a plush, soft structure. Flavors of dark berries dominate; wild blackberries and dried plums, with notes of espresso coffee."

 

Dark blackish garnet colored, full bodied, brambly concentrated blackberry and dark cherries, notes of creosote and tar with spice, smoke and savory soy laced black olive and bitter dark-chocolate with wisps of black pepper notes on a lingering tangy acidic finish.

 

RM 90 points. 

 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3616184

https://bodegasborsao.com/

https://www.vinchicago.com/

 

https://twitter.com/vin_chicago 

 

Flinders Run Southern Flinders Ranges Shiraz 2005

Flinders Run Southern Flinders Ranges Shiraz 2005 

Hanging out for the holiday weekend, we opened our cellar for a tour to our new neighbor Mandy and her friend, colleague and guest Megan. She had professed to love big bold fruit forward wines, as we do. So, I pulled from the cellar a favorite big Aussie Shiraz for her to try for with the fresh garden salad and smoked grill dinner she and husband Chris were hosting/serving for the evening. 

As I have written in the past in this blog, this review from back in October, 2014 I wrote, "Favorite Aussie Shiraz - Flinders 2005 Aging Gracefully".

I raved about this wine when I discovered it several years ago and have featured it numerous times since in this blog. When I discovered this wine downstate in a local wineshop, I purchased some, then went back and purchased the remainder, then found and purchased more on-line. When I convinced local mega-merchant Binny's to obtain some more, I cleaned out their allocation too. At fifteen years, we still hold a half dozen bottles and continue to enjoy this big bold fruit filled Shiraz. Amazingly, tonight, it exceeded expectations and tasted as well as any remembrance I have of this label. 

Regretably, as I have noted in the past, this came on the scene with this and one other vintage release, then disappeared, not to be seen again. According to their website, it appears to still be in production, but its not to be found in distribution in Chicagoland, or in the on-line wine community.

Indeed, the Flinders Run website (http://www.flindersrun.com.au/) states, "We knew from the first trials of the 2001 and subsequent 2003 vintages that the Flinders Run wines were going to be something special, but nothing prepared us for the overwhelming success, we would experience with the release of the 2005 Vintage. Subsequent vintages have been crafted in the same careful manner exhibiting a consistency in flavour and style and most importantly capturing the elegance of region climate and above all varietal character."

That 2005 vintage got a raving 95 point review from legendary wine critic Robert Parker, 92 points from Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, and 91 points from Wine Spectator. Parker wrote,"Purple/black in color, the wine exhibits a big, brooding bouquet of pain grille, pepper, Asian spices, blueberry, blackberry, and licorice. This leads to a full-bodied (15.2% alcohol), super-rich, plush wine with layers of spicy black fruit flavors, excellent balance, and a long, pure finish. For a wine of this size, it is remarkably light on its feet. Give it 2-3 years to more fully evolve and drink it through 2020. This is quite a debut for Flinders Run!"

Winemaker's notes: "The 2005 Shiraz was aged for 18 months in French and American oak hogsheads with 50% new French oak staves. Purple/black in color, the wine exhibits a big, brooding bouquet of pain grille, pepper, Asian spices, blueberry, blackberry, and licorice. This leads to a full-bodied (15.2% alcohol), super-rich, plush wine with layers of spicy black fruit flavors, excellent balance, and a long, pure finish.

At fifteen years, this wine is ending its prime drinking window and starting to show its age as the intense fruit flavors are taking on a burnt raisin tone. Warning our neighbors and their dinner guest that this is not for the feint of heart, they dove in and loved the intense ripe raisin fruit tones and firm structure and gripping tannins.

I wrote about Flinders Run producer Emanuel Skorpos in an earlier blogpost. 

I recounted to the tasters that my recollection of the two vintages of this label, was that we liked the 2005 more than the 2006, being more approachable, more polished and balanced, while the '06 was bigger, more brooding and bold, but less polished or in no sense elegant. I selected the '05 tonight, dutifully to work off the older vintage, but also to test my recollection of it being my favored of the two, and to monitor its aging.

Consistent with our last post of this label,  Deep dark inky purple, "more subdued than the bigger '06, it retains all the nuances and character it exhibited in its youth - nicely balanced, polished, and flavorful. While the fruit is not as big and bold as its follow on vintage, the '05 still holds full, dense, complex layers of blue and black berry fruits, accented by licorice, hints of black pepper, and tones of black tea and what Parker refers to as 'pain grillé' which is the French word for 'toast'."

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=421985

http://www.flindersrun.com.au/

Clarendon Hills "Piggott Range Vineyard" Syrah Duo

Clarendon Hills "Piggott Range Vineyard" Syrah Duo followed by pair of Rubissows

With the ladies gathered in town for a bridal shower for daughter-in-law Vivianna, the guys hung out sipping a medley of fine wines. Dr Dan brought from his cellar a Clarendon Hills "Piggott Range Vineyard" Syrah so I pulled another vintage of the same label for a mini-vertical comparison tasting. 

We've had several memorable tastings of this label going back to the '97 vintage including a special anniversary dinner and several of our wine group special events featuring this 2004 release. Links to these various tastings are featured below. I wrote about Clarendon Hills in one of those earlier blogposts. 

This Piggott Range vineyard designated label is by far my favorite of the Clarendon Hills portfolio even when compared to their flagship super premium Astralis label. I wrote about a trio of Clarendon Hills labels in a blogpost comparison tasting last fall, "Trio of Clarendon Hills labels - Astralis, Bakers Gully and Romas".

.

Clarendon Hills "Piggott Range Vineyard" Syrah McLaren Vale South Australia 2011

This vintage release of this label was not as big or fruit filled as the other releases I have tasted, taking on a little bit more menthol and acidity than the more complex concentrated fruit flavors of the 2004 that we paired and compared. One Cellartracker reviewer MMack gave it 92 points and compared it to a CDP (Chateauneuf du Pape). Vivino reviewer DcLaxFan also likened it to a Rhone, he wrote "From a winery founded by a biochemist, the Syrah opens with a nose of smoked meat, mulberry, tapenade, and plum. Savory mouth of prunes, brisket, cassis, and earth. A wild, smoky, meaty feel like a Rhône Vacqueyras."

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1953014

Tasty and big never-the-less, the 2004 put it in its place with a more classic big powerful concentrated fruit Piggott Range profile.

Clarendon Hills Syrah Piggott Range Vineyard 2004

Consistent with earlier tasting notes, this exhibited a rich dark purple color, full bodied, and full smooth polished aromas and flavors of raspberries, blueberry, blueberries and smoked meat with notes of spice and floral elements with hints of oak with nicely integrated silky tannins on the lingering finish.

The rich extracted fruit however did not succumb to the last tasting of this label when the fruit seemed more ripe or extracted so as to be a bit more raisiny with a subtle tone of graphite or a metallic note - perhaps or most likely attributable to aging at this stage of life - fifteen years of age.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=153424

Previous tastings of this label:

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/11/bbq-ribs-and-syrah-syrah.html 

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2012/08/clarendon-hills-clarendon-piggott-range.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/10/cityscape-syrah-zin-bbq-ribs-wine.html 

https://clarendonhills.com.au/

Babylonstoren Simonsberg-Paarl South Africa Shiraz 2018

Babylonstoren Simonsberg-Paarl South Africa Shiraz 2018

This South African Shiraz is a current special offering from local merchant Vin Chicago. We had to try it and are glad we did! It is from the Simonsberg-Paarl ward or appellation, (what in the US would be called an AVA, or an AOC in France, DOC in Italy), the most granular South Africa wine area designation, within the Paarl District, within the Coastal Wine Region of South Africa, located in the southwestern tip of the nation. 

South African Wine Regions are generally aligned with geographic units, regions and districts largely traced by political boundaries, the sub-unit appellations or wards are segmented and defined by their unique Terroir characteristics, as with other wine area classifications around the world.

Simonsberg, translated into English means Simon's Mountain, is part of the Cape Fold Belt Mountain Range in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is located between the towns of Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek, where the prominent 1399 m high mountain is detached and freestanding from the other ranges in the winelands region.

I gained an appreciation for South African wines during my South African Wine Experience visit there two years ago when I had the chance to drink some popular and limited release wines.

Babylonstoren is one of the oldest Cape Dutch farms, set at the foot of Simonsberg in the Franschhoek wine valley. They produce a wide portfolio of wines, crafted in a state-of-the-art winery to reflect the unique terroir soils and climate where its grapes are grown. The Babylonstoren estate also includes a contemporary Farm Hotel & Spa, and the Farm Shop and Restaurants.

They have 88 hectares (217 acres) under vine and produce 13 different grape varieties. The vineyards lie against the Simonsberg (Mt Simon) reaching altitudes of 600 meters above sea level. The highest vines are planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Some of the vines on the farm date back to original plantings by the farm’s previous owners, the Louw family, who lived there for four generations. The Louws were grape growers for the former Simondium Co-operative Winery and other large wineries in the area. 

The branding of Babylonstoren wines are represented in the Babylonstoren logo, which consists of the pipe (representing the farmer), the flower (representing the garden) and the bird (representing nature).

Winemaker producer Charl Coetzee says, "This combination is the very essence of Babylonstoren – keeping things simple and as true to the earth as possible. It is this that we strive to achieve in our wine," says Charl Coetzee. "Truth to the area we are situated in on the slopes of Simonsberg, and simplicity by making elegant and balanced wines as natural as possible."

This label is 100% estate Shiraz. Fermentation takes place on the skins for about seven days, after which it gets an extended maceration period of about one week. The wine then gets pressed into a combination of 70% new and 30% second-fill 300 liter French oak barrels. After malolactic fermentation the wine gets racked and is then returned to the barrels for another 18 months before bottling.

This release was awarded 96 points by Decanter World Wine Awards in 2020.

Winemaker: Charlenes Coetzee Tasting Notes: "Aromas of cassis, pencil shavings, ripe fruit, a little dustiness and fragrant violets. Matured in French oak, this delicious Shiraz has a fresh mid-palate with dark cherry and soft prune flavours and a hint of spice. The mouth-feel is rich and velvety and the finish long and pleasing. A firm favourite of ours."  

At slightly more than $20, this represents good value high QPR (Quality Price Ratio). 

We drank this with Covid carry-out Italian pizza and pasta dinner from Angeli's Italian, our local neighborhood trattoria. 

What you would hope for in a big full throttle Shiraz - dark inky purple colored, full bodied, slightly flabby, concentrated dense black berry and sweet black cherry brambly fruits with a layer of smokey menthol and black olive, spice, graphite and hints of cassis and white pepper with tongue coating acidity on the lingering finish.  Lacks elegance or polish, a bit obtuse, but tasty and enjoyable.

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3571660

https://babylonstoren.com/

twitter : @babylonstoren 

 

Kilikanoon Oracle Shiraz 2004

Kilikanoon "Oracle" Shiraz Clare Valley South Australia 2004 

Linda prepared a hearty Chicken Cacciatore with Rice. While an ideal pairing might have been a bright white wine, Italian cuisine might dictate a Sangiovese with acidic tomato sauces, we opted for a hearty big red and I pulled from the cellar one of our favorites, Kilikanoon "Oracle" Shiraz from Clare Valley in South Australia. 

We have fun with this wine as a sentimental favorite, as its name Oracle is also the name of Linda's high school teams, from her home town of Delphi in Indiana, hence Oracle was a suitable name. 

The name refers to the Oracle at Delphi, which was the most famous “oracle” in ancient Greece, and people from all the then-known world would flock to the temple of Apollo seeking advice. The long path leading up the mountain to Apollo’s temple, called the Sacred Way, was lined with treasure houses filled with costly gifts that leaders and cities had given to Apollo. 

Oracle has been the flagship wine of Kilikanoon since founding in 1997. Starting as a single vineyard wine from the famed 40 year old vines of  'Mort’s Block' Clare Valley vineyard, named for founder Mort Mitchel, Oracle has long been a standard bearer for the finest of Clare Valley Shiraz.

Winemaker and proprietor Kevin Mitchell purchased the property of the same name in the hamlet of Penwortham in Leasingham in South Australia's picturesque Clare Valley. Hailing from a long line of wine grape growers, his father Mort Mitchell planted and tended Kilikanoon's Golden Hillside suite of vineyards that include the famed Mort's Block, for over 40 years. Kevin spent years working along his father working the vineyards and learning the nuances of the distinctive terroir.

The first Kilikanoon branded wines from the 1997 vintage were four single vineyard wines, each from Kevin and Mort's vineyards; 'Oracle' Shiraz, 'Prodigal' Grenache, 'Blocks Road' Cabernet and 'Mort's Block' Watervale Riesling.

In the 2002 Clare Valley Wine Show chaired by prominent Australian wine writer and judge, Huon Hooke, Kilikanoon gained notoriety by winning 6 of the 7 trophies awarded. Oracle Shiraz has twice won 'Best Shiraz' at International wine shows, and James Halliday's Australian Wine Companion named Kilikanoon 'Winery of the Year' in 2013. In 2014, Kevin Mitchell was inducted into the inaugural Clare Valley Hall of Fame as Winemaker of the Year.

Kilikanoon "Oracle" Shiraz Clare Valley South Australia 2004

With the exception of the 2011 vintage, each year since 1997 Killikanoon have released the iconic Oracle Shiraz.

Robert Parker gave this wine 97 points, James Halliday and Vinous 93 points, and Wine Spectator 92 points.

Dense inky purple colored, rich, full bodied and concentrated yet well balanced black and blue berry fruits with floral, cinnamon and clove spices, cassis, licorice and espresso turning to firm but approachable tannins on a long finish. 

Showing its age a bit at sixteen years, the fruits are taking on a burnt raisin layer indicating its time to drink as this is past its prime and will continue to decline from here forward. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=234312

 www.kilikanoon.com.au

https://twitter.com/kilikanoonwines

@kilikanoonwines 

Flinders Run Southern Flinders Ranges Shiraz 2005

Flinders Run Southern Flinders Ranges Shiraz 2005

Quiet snowy winter evening at home, I pulled from the cellar a favorite big Aussie Shiraz for sipping with fruit, nuts, crackers and hearty cheeses.

As I have written in the past in this blog, this review from back in October, 2014 I wrote, "Favorite Aussie Shiraz - Flinders 2005 Aging Gracefully".

I raved about this wine when I discovered it several years ago and have featured it numerous times since in this blog. When I discovered this wine downstate in a local wineshop, I purchased some, then went back and purchased the remainder, then found and purchased more on-line. When I convinced local mega-merchant Binny's to obtain some more, I cleaned out their allocation too. At fifteen years, we still hold a half dozen bottles and continue to enjoy this big bold fruit filled Shiraz. Amazingly, tonight, it exceeded expectations and tasted as well as any remembrance I have of this label. 

Regretably, as I have noted in the past, this came on the scene with this and one other vintage release, then disappeared, not to be seen again. According to their website, it appears to still be in production, but its not to be found in distribution in Chicagoland, or in the on-line wine community.

Indeed, the Flinders Run website (http://www.flindersrun.com.au/) states, "We knew from the first trials of the 2001 and subsequent 2003 vintages that the Flinders Run wines were going to be something special, but nothing prepared us for the overwhelming success, we would experience with the release of the 2005 Vintage. Subsequent vintages have been crafted in the same careful manner exhibiting a consistency in flavour and style and most importantly capturing the elegance of region climate and above all varietal character."

That 2005 vintage got a raving 95 point review from legendary wine critic Robert Parker, 92 points from Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, and 91 points from Wine Spectator. Parker wrote,"Purple/black in color, the wine exhibits a big, brooding bouquet of pain grille, pepper, Asian spices, blueberry, blackberry, and licorice. This leads to a full-bodied (15.2% alcohol), super-rich, plush wine with layers of spicy black fruit flavors, excellent balance, and a long, pure finish. For a wine of this size, it is remarkably light on its feet. Give it 2-3 years to more fully evolve and drink it through 2020. This is quite a debut for Flinders Run!"

Winemaker's notes: "The 2005 Shiraz was aged for 18 months in French and American oak hogsheads with 50% new French oak staves. Purple/black in color, the wine exhibits a big, brooding bouquet of pain grille, pepper, Asian spices, blueberry, blackberry, and licorice. This leads to a full-bodied (15.2% alcohol), super-rich, plush wine with layers of spicy black fruit flavors, excellent balance, and a long, pure finish.

Indeed, here were are just closing out 2020, this is drinking as good as ever and we're savoring our remaining bottles, but delighted they're holding up so well and we needn't rush finishing them.

As reported in earlier posts, Flinders Run Southern Flinders Ranges Shiraz is the artwork of Emanuel Skorpos whose winemaking heritage goes back many generations to the Greek Island of Samos where his Grandfather Manoli Skorpos and his father attended to the olive grove and vineyard in the rugged mountainous region known as Morteri which they still farm to this day.

In 1991 Emanuel, after traveling to Samos to visit the Family Estate, set out to return to Australia to locate the perfect piece of land in which to establish the vineyard and olive grove in the Skorpos tradition. Emanual has been working in Viticulture/Horticulture  in the Riverland and Southern Flinders Ranges regions in South Australia since then. He worked with Ian Smith, Vineyard Manager and Vitticulturalist for Leasingham wines who identified the Southern Flinders Ranges as one of the best kept secrest in Australia’s wine industry. Emanuel manages the vineyards and olive grove and works closely with the Flinders Run winemaker to produce artisan boutique wines that emeplify the distinct  flavour and personality of the Southern Flinders Ranges. Emanuel’s wife, Laura manages the logistics and operations of winery business.

My recollection of the two vintages of this label, was that we liked the 2005 more than the 2006, being more approachable, more polished and balanced, while the '06 was bigger, more brooding and bold, but less polished or in no sense elegant. I selected the '05 tonight, dutifully to work off the older vintage, but also to test my recollection of it being my favored of the two, and to monitor its aging.

Consistent with our last post of this label,  Deep dark inky purple, "more subdued than the bigger '06, it retains all the nuances and character it exhibited in its youth - nicely balanced, polished, and flavorful. While the fruit is not as big and bold as its follow on vintage, the '05 still holds full, dense, complex layers of blue and black berry fruits, accented by licorice, hints of black pepper, and tones of black tea and what Parker refers to as 'pain grillé' which is the French word for 'toast'."

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=421985

http://www.flindersrun.com.au/

http://www.flindersrun.com.au/-flinders-run-2005-shiraz.html

 

 

Marquis Philips "9" McLaren Vale Shiraz

With BBQ rib dinner I pulled from the cellar this hearty aged Aussie Shiraz. This label was the precursor to the now famous Mollydooker. We acquired several vintages of this label upon release and have only a few left, this being the last of this vintage release. This big bold profile is ideally suited for and demands something like tangy barbecue. My journal of tasting notes show we had each vintage from 2000 through 2007 of this label and this was our seventh posting of this vintage release.

Marquis Philips "9" McLaren Vale South Australia Shiraz 2005

Marquis Philips was the label of winemakers Sarah and Sparky Marquis with their whimsical label of that era featuring the 'Roogle' (shown left). The cross between an eagle and kangaroo represented their joint venture with Dan Philips, their American distributor. They disbanded a few years later and started their own label that became the well known Mollydooker brand. They then split up and Sarah took over the business while Sparky spent time traveling and contemplating his next chapter. 

Ironically, Sparky is a racing car enthusiast buddy of my colleague who manages the ANZ APAC region for me from down there in Adelaide. I'll hope to meet him through our mutual acquaintance if and when I travel there on business, or better, on a wine trip.

Robert Parker loved this stuff! WA 96-98 Pts. Upon one release, he said, 'run, don't walk' to your local wine shop to pick this up. "The 2005 Shiraz 9 (a 4,000-case cuvee that spends 18 months in new and one-year-old American oak) reveals a big, toasty, smoky nose, but the oak is beautifully absorbed by extravagant quantities of blackberry and cassis fruit intermixed with licorice, incense, and spice. This full-bodied, powerful, rich, layered stunner should drink well for a decade."

I wrote earlier in a post that this label is not for the feint of heart with its big bold aggressive profile. 

At fifteen years, this still resembled earlier tastings from a decade ago with its super ripe berry fruit bordering on raisiny.  A bit opulent, almost obtuse, the big rich forward powerful super ripe black and blue berry fruits are like cherry-cola accentuated by graphite, mineral, tones of expresso and hints of dark bittersweet mocha chocolate. It doesn't seem to have aged in that time but will certainly not improve further but start to decline, no matter, since this was our last bottle. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=283966

Carnival of Love for Anniversary Dinner

 Mollydooker Carnival of Love Shiraz 2011 for Anniversary Celebration Dinner

We have fun with the whimsical labels of Mollydooker with their cartoonish characters and circus poster themed labels. But, there is nothing whimsical about their big full-throttle Shiraz in their premium label Carnival of Love. We adopted this and the companion Enchanted Path years ago for family celebration dinners. So it was that we pulled this bottle from the cellar to take BYOB to our anniversary dinner. 

My interest in and appreciation for this label has been heightened recently when I learned that one of my protege's who manages the greater ANZ/APAC region for me is a personal friend of Sparky Marquis, founder and previous co-owner of Mollydooker, but since departed.

We dined at the whimsically named Carnivore and the Queen neighborhood fine dining restaurant, dining outside on the lawn due to the Coronavirus rules. 

This created what could have been the tongue twister headliner for this post - Carnival of Love at Carnivore and the Queen during Coronavirus pandemic. 

As I wrote last winter on an earlier post, Carnivore & The Queen Supper Club is designed after a bygone area of nostalgic dining, a contemporary revival of a classic prohibition-era supper club with a 'casual vibe & approachable classic food'.

Carnivore & The Queen is the work of husband-and-wife team Chris Matus and Kelli Lodico-Matus. It is located down the street from Lisle (Illinois) in adjacent Downers Grove.

They offer daily menus featuring their recipes and the seasons' local ingredients from localvor  farmers, fishmongers & ranchers. They strive to deliver an experience that both their mothers provided, like gathering the family around the dinner table every night. There is a price-fix three course and a five course offering. There is also a menu offering with wine pairings accompaniment.

Linda order the price-fixe dinner with the baked chicken special of the day. I ordered the BBQ ribs with house fingerling wedge potatoes. The five course dinner came with a cerviche' and then their signature relish tray with olives, marinated mushrooms, relishes, radishes, cauliflower and a vegetable spread with dinner crackers. 

We both followed with their wedge salad with blue cheese, maplewood bacon and tomatoes. 

After dinner dessert was their signature home-made key-lime pie, the 'best ever', according to Linda. 

Mollydooker Carnival of Love McLaren Vale South Australia Shiraz 2011

The 100% Shiraz grapes for Carnival of Love are from the Gateway Vineyard in McLaren Vale. It was aged in almost entirely new American oak. 

This release was awarded 94 points by Wine Spectator and 93 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

Consistent with my earlier tasting notes from 2014, This was dark inky garnet purple colored, full bodied, expressive fragrant floral notes, dense, deep concentrated, complex fruits of sweet black cherry, black raspberry and hints of blueberry fruits accented by creme de cassis, cinnamon and clove spices with a layer of charcoal that detracts from the harmonious desirable fruit and spice notes. The finish is long with crisp acidity and soft silky tannins,

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1436687

https://www.mollydookerwines.com.au/default.aspx

Darioush Napa Valley Shiraz 2013

Darioush Napa Valley Shiraz 2013

Attending family birthday celebration for grand-daughter Marleigh, son Ryan pulled from his cellar this Darioush Shiraz. We've been fans and collectors of Darioush Napa estate wines for decades.

We visited the magnificent opulent Darioush winery, designed in the style of a Persian temple, sitting at the bottom of the Silverado Trail against the bottom of the mountain overlooking the Napa Valley floor during our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2017.

The wildfires of a couple years ago came down the hill just above the estate sparing the property but devouring the Signorello Estate nearby, the highlight of our Napa Valley Experience back in 2013.

We attended a gala wine dinner hosted by Darius and Shaptar Khaledi along with Domaine de Chevalier, Olivier Bernard at swanky Everest in Chicago back in 2003.

We visited the estate back in 2003 and had a private barrel tasting with Darioush winemaker Steve Devitt at the chai behind what was then the construction site of the current Winery Hospitality Center.

Known for their flagship Signature Series anchored by Cabernet Sauvignon, they also produce this Signature Shiraz which is a standard bearer for the varietal for Napa Valley.

Darius relishes this label attributing the fruit to Shiraz, named for his birthplace, Shiraz, Persia, Iran, although some pundits attribute the designation could also be granted to the varietal Petit Syrah.

Darioush Napa Valley Signature Series Shiraz 2013

This is a full throttle, not for the feint of heart Shiraz, akin to some of the 'fruit bombs' from the Barossa or McLaren Vale -  a style we love and favor.

Fruit for this label is sourced from Darioush estate vineyards that adjoin the winery in the Oak Knoll District and others in the Napa Valley appellation.

Black inky bluish purple colored, full bodied, bold, concentrated, expressive black and blue fruits with a punctuation of tangy clove spice with notes of white pepper with hints of bittersweet chocolate, expresso and smoke turning to bright nicely integrated tannins on the lingering finish.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2289003

https://www.darioush.com/

@darioushwinery 

Big Napa Cabs and #9 for 4th of July Celebration Dinner

Big Napa Cabs - Heitz, Moffett and Marquis Philips '9' for 4th of July Celebration and gala family dinner

The family (sans Alec & Viv, returned to NYC) gathered at our house for a gala 4th of July Celebration and Dinner - bbq, bags, badmitton, beer, tractor rides, swings, fireworks and some fine wine. Our 2 1/2 acre estate property, surrounded by similar estates, provided the perfect setting for the occasion.

Ryan prepared a delicious beef brisket that was the centerpiece of the dinner and Linda prepared grilled burgers, sweet corn, baked potatoes, chips and dips, and more. Ryan brought a salad and Erin brought blueberry cheesecake and chocolate cake. Sean and Michelle brought fireworks.

Ryan selected and I pulled from the cellar two aged Aussie Shiraz's - '97 Rosemount Balmoral and '07 Marquis Philips #9. He brought from his cellar the remains of a Heitz Trailside Napa Cab, '06. I pulled a '06 Moffitt Reserve Napa Cab to compare.

Regretably, the Rosemount Balmoral, at 23 years, was beyond its enjoyable drinking window and we set it aside. The decade younger Marquis Philips was still at the peak of its drinking curve.

Hence my attention turned to the Napa Cabs - enjoying the Heitz, and selecting and trying a comparison pairing.

Marquis Phillips '09' McLaren Vale Shiraz 2007

We're getting near the end of an era, the end of cellar holdings of this label that once spanned close to a decade, we have a few bottles left of 05, 06, and '07's.

Crafted by Sparky and Sarah Marquis before they moved to Mollydooker fame, this bold expressive forward wine begs for the tangy spicy bar-b-cue or hearty cheese, and vica versa!

 As I wrote in an eariler review of this wine, last summer, this full-throttle intensely concentrated classic South Australian Shiraz burst on the scene in 2001 with direction from Robert Parker to 'run, don't walk' to your wineshop to buy this wine.  Marquis Philps was the result of a partnership between the highly respected South Australian viticulturists /winemakers, Sarah and Sparky Marquis and their importer, Dan Philips of the Grateful Palate.

Like the other Marquis Philips/Mollydooker branding, this features a whimsical cartoon characterization, this time of a 'roogle', which is 1/2 eagle, and 1/2 kangaroo, representing the American Australian partnership of Marquis and US distributor and partner Dan Phillips. The brand of Marquis Philips produced high QPR wines immediately gained enormous success and a faithful following. This partnership disbanded and Sarah and Sparky Marquis went on to form the follow-on brand/label Mollydooker, launched in 2005. They split up with Sarah taking over, buying out Sparky a couple years ago.

Interesting that for the 2007 vintage, they produced this label as well as the Mollydooker premium Enchanted Path label. We tasted both side by side in another family holiday dinner tasting at Christmas back in 2017. As I wrote then, its not clear if there is any overlap here since their breakup of the venture may cloud the details of the sourcing of their labels. There could be some of the same fruit in the two different labels. In any event, the 2007 vintage '9' is also dark, big, full bodied and concentrated. It is not as complex or polished as the Enchanted Path blend. In addition to the black berry fruits accented by mocha, tobacco and leather, there is a layer of graphite in this that has an edge that tends to detract from the fruit.

This big, complex, concentrated powerful wine with super rich, ripe tongue-coating fruit. This release of  '9' was sourced from McLaren Vale (60%) and Padthaway (40%) in South Central Australia. 

Consistent with earlier review notes, "this 2007 vintage '9' is dark, big, full bodied and concentrated. It is not as complex or polished as some of the other vintage releases. In addition to the black berry fruits accented by mocha, tobacco and leather, there is a layer of graphite in this that has an edge that tends to detract from the fruit."

Lacking the blend of the Bordeaux varietal (s) would explain this wine being more single-dimensional and less complex, yet no less bodied or concentrated.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=651009

Heitz Cellars Trailside Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Legendary Joe Heitz and his wife Alice were pioneers of modern California winemaking when they moved to the Napa Valley in 1951. Joe earned an advanced degree in oenology from UCal Davis and he worked with famed winemaker Andre Tchelistcheff at Beaulieu Vineyards before he and Alice bought a small winery in 1961. Over the decades the estate grew to one of California’s most admired estates spanning 400 acres with vineyards planted in six of Napa Valley’s sub-appellations: Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena, Howell Mountain, Oak Knoll District, and Calistoga.

Pioneers in many aspects of viticulture, winemaking and branding, they produced Napa Valley’s first vineyard-designated Cabernet Sauvignon, the renowned Heitz Cellar Martha’s Vineyard 1965 Cabernet Sauvignon. Heitz traditional branding retains the original historic label for all the Cabernet Sauvignon selections, differentiated by the script vineyard designation. Each bottle contains a unique identifying bottle number for the vintage release.

Joe died in 2000 but his children continued to run the estate until 2018 when the estate was sold to Gaylon Lawrence Jr., a businessman whose family owns farmland throughout the Midwest and South as well as banks and industrial enterprises. Lawrence has brought in Napa wine industry veteran Robert Boyd as Heitz CEO.

Ryan and Michelle visited the winery last year and had the honor of being served by David Heitz. They tasted and acquired a selection of library wines including this Trailside Vineyard selection. The vineyard has been part of the Heitz estate since 1984 and produces one of their three, single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons. sitting along the Silverado Trail, backing up to Conn Creek on the fertile, eastern side of the Rutherford appellation, only the best blocks are selected for this terroir driven Vineyard designated Cabernet Sauvignon.

The esteemed Trailside Vineyard is a prime slice of Rutherford dirt, hugging the Silverado Trail on its east side and descending at a moderate grade until its opposite boundary nudges the banks of the Conn Creek.

Trailside consists of sixteen blocks of cabernet sauvignon, planted with seven different clones across the layers of eight different soil types that span eighty five acres; legendary Trailside Vineyard is the quintessential expression of the Rutherford terroir.

“The alluvial soil combined with a gradual slope towards Conn Creek makes this site ‘textbook perfect’ for growing Cabernet Sauvignon. We have planted the vines on an east-west orientation to evenly ripen the fruit throughout the day with dappled, gentle sunlight, resulting in small berries and ultimately, a smooth and concentrated wine.” – Brittany Sherwood, Winemaker

The 100% Cabernet Sauvignon label takes five years to produce prior to release. Each block from Trailside is crushed and fermented separately and remains unblended during its year in neutral oak tanks before being moved to 100% new French Limousin oak barrels. Each lot is continuously tasted and evaluated for two years after which on the superior barrels are selected to become the Trailside Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines are then aged separately by lot for one more year in barrel, for a total of four full years in oak, before finally blending together for bottling. Once in bottle, the Trailside continues to mature for another year, until its release from our cellar.

The 2006 vintage was a tumultuous year, with swings between flooding and a wet spring, to a record-setting heat wave in July, making a year requiring meticulous vineyard management. A cool down in August allowed grapes to ripen at a steadier pace, leading to a long harvest as different varieties were harvested at optimum ripeness.

This was bright ruby purple colored, medium-full bodied, balanced integrated bright vibrant plum, currant and blackberry fruits are highlighted by notes of anise, spice and sultry oak with chewy and gripping tannins on a lingering finish.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=661099

https://www.heitzcellar.com/

Moffet Cellars Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

This wine is from Moffett Vineyard, a 20 acre site sitting 1500 feet up on Howell Mountain on the eastern slopes at the northern end of the range overlooking Napa Valley. 

The producer, Trent Moffett carries on the tradition started by his parents John and Diane Livingston, growing grapes and producing Napa Valley wines for over thirty five years.

Sourced from two Napa Valley vineyards: one high up on Howell Mountain and the other in St. Helena, it strikes a beautiful balance in the blend composed of 94% cabernet sauvignon and 6% cabernet franc. 

This is inky purple / garnet colored - medium-full bodied - polished and smooth with full flavors of blackberries, ripe plum and currants - the fruit slightly subdued from earlier tastings, highlighted by a layer of smoky creosote and black tea with tones of mocha chocolate and anisewith a touch of oak and spice - the wine shows great balance of toasted oak and acidity.

RM 92 Points

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/12/moffett-vineyards-cabernet-sauvignon.html

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2016/01/fantesca-chardonnay-dunham-cellars.html

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=661237

http://moffettvineyards.com/ 

What is better than to sit at the end of a day and drink wine with friends, or substitute for friends.

 -James Joyce

But there is no substitute for family!

Branson Coach House Barossa Greenock Block Shiraz 2004

Branson Coach House Barossa Valley Single Vineyard Greenock Block Shiraz 2004

For casual sipping in front of a movie, the kids and Linda wanted a hearty flavorful Shiraz so I selected from the cellar this big bold Aussie Shiraz.

I discovered and tasted this wine with Wine Manager Bill and the Aussie wine buyer at the wine desk at Binny's in Glen Ellyn back upon release. I liked it so much I bought their entire allocation which was only a couple six packs.

This property was taken over by Two Hands after the passing of proprietor Malcolm Asden, the result being these wines are now made alongside Two Hands by their winemaker Matt Wenk. The acquisition was made possible by capital from outside foreign investors.

Along with the winery and brand came eighteen acres of Greenock vineyards planted in mature high quality Shiraz which will continue to be produced under the BCH label. Subsequently, Two Hands wine production is also done at the BCH Greenock facility.

They continue to produce BCH premium single vineyard designated labels Coach House Block Rare Single Vineyard and Greenock Block Single Vineyard Shiraz's sourced from the vineyards that surround the winery.

Tonight, even though my Cellartracker records show I am out of this label/release, I found two bottles left in the cellar, (in place of a different label/release from the same producer).

Now, at sixteen years of age, this is aging gracefully, but starting to show its age with slight signs of diminution of the fruits.

Upon opening it was slightly obtuse with a bit of an edge, but over the course of an hour it opened, softened and became more approachable.

Dark inky purple color, full bodied, thick, chewy layers of aromatic flavors of tangy black fruits, raspberry, black cherry and black currants, accented by tones of clove spice, graphite & hints of creme de cassis on a smooth polished moderate tannin finish.

RM 90 points, two points less than the last tastings back nearly four years ago on Aug 6, 2016 and then Oct 11, 2017. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=246545

Kilikanoon Oracle Clare Valley Shiraz 2007

Kilikanoon Oracle Clare Valley Shiraz 2007

With bbq grilled ribs and baked potatoes, we opened a Kilikanoon Oracle Clare Valley Shiraz. Kilikanoon is a boutique Clare Valley winery founded in 1997 when winemaker and proprietor Kevin Mitchell purchased the property of the same name in the hamlet of Penwortham in South Australia's picturesque Clare Valley.

The Kilikanoon property, featuring a circa 1860s stone cottage housing Kilikanoon tasting room, was originally settled by early English migrants who named it after an historic old mansion in Cornwall. By purchasing the property, Mitchell acquired 30 year old Shiraz, Cabernet, Grenache and Riesling vineyards, many of which were planted by his father, Mort, in the 1960s.

Kilikanoon has grown from producing 25,000 bottles in that first vintage, to now exporting to over 25 countries and has become one of the leading brands in Australia.

In the 2002 Clare Valley Wine Show chaired by prominent Australian wine writer and judge, Huon Hooke, Kilikanoon gained notoriety by winning 6 of the 7 trophies awarded. Oracle Shiraz has twice won 'Best Shiraz' at International wine shows, and James Halliday's Australian Wine Companion named Kilikanoon 'Winery of the Year' in 2013. In 2014, Kevin Mitchell was inducted into the inaugural Clare Valley Hall of Fame as Winemaker of the Year.

The Oracle label has long been the flagship wine since Kilikanoon first opened doors back in 1998. Starting off as a single vineyard wine from the famed 'Mort’s Block' Clare Valley vineyard, it has been cited as the benchmark of what Clare Shiraz can achieve, a low yielding Shiraz from single 40 year old vineyard, it typically has an ageing potential of at least 12 - 15 years with careful cellaring.

We love this full throttle, complex, concentrated style of full fruit forward shiraz and hold a half dozen vintages of this flagship label. Tonight we pulled the oldest vintage as part of cellar management.

The 2007 vintage release of Oracle was awarded 93 pts by Wine Enthusiast, 92 pts by Stephen Tanzer, 91 pts by Wine Spectator, and 90 pts by Robert Parker and Wine & Spirits Magazine.

Dark inky purple, full bodied, bright vibrant blackberry, black raspberry and cherry cola flavors are accented by notes of licorice, dark cherries and mocha chocolate and hints of graphite and oak with nicely integrated firm tannins leading to a smooth finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2151943

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kilikanoon