As usual all the following wines were tasted blind, and 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.
Coming straight after the disappointing 1998 Super Shiraz tasting this was actually quite good, but in contrast the votes were very widespread. This tasting again seemed to highlight the potential strength of the 2004 & 2005 South Australian vintages, particularly at the pleasantly surprising cheaper end of the market. There was absolutely nothing between my top three (quite diverse) wines, but there were also a couple of surprise disappointments.
2004 Majella Coonawarra Shiraz $24: Dark to very inky purple colour with a glowing hue. A very classy, cooler climate wine opening with creamy/vanilla oak and ripe blackberries, and developing some beautifully perfumed dried herbs, black cherry and black pepper characters. Similarly the mid-weight palate continued with ripe cherry fruit dusted with white pepper, finishing long, sweet, tannic and elegant. Right from the get go I was thinking this was a McLaren Vale wine – until half way through we were told there weren’t any in the tasting!
My ranking: 1st place
Panel ranking: =4th place
Votes: 2 most, 2 second & third, 2 least preferred
2005 Heartland Limestone Coast Langhorne Creek Shiraz $14: Dark to very inky purple with a glowing hue. The nose had its similarities to the Majella at first with elegant pepper and cherry characters, but with breathing became noticeably riper displaying blackberry and some floral hints – some Viognier maybe? In contrast the palate didn’t try at all to be subtle, opening with spicy blackberry fruit followed by a wave of tannin and alcohol heat mid-palate, finishing quite dry. Not my style.
My ranking: 6th place
Panel ranking: =4th place
Votes: 1 most, 3 second & third, 1 least preferred
2004 Schild Estate Barossa Shiraz $14: Dark to inky purple with a glowing hue. I’ve tried this over-achiever a number of times, and I’m pleased to say little has changed. Slightly toasty oak at first on the nose, followed by a rush of very sweet blackberry/cherry fruit, getting darker and deeper with breathing to reveal some sweet, dark chocolate. All that thick, sweet, almost syrupy blackberry fruit is there from the very opening, followed by some black pepper mid-palate, and finishing with that seductive dark chocolate and just a hint of alcohol warmth. It’s good to see there’s still a classic Barossa Shiraz at a dirt-cheap price – for now anyway.
My ranking: 4th place
Panel ranking: =1st place
Votes: 2 most, 5 second & third, 0 least preferred
2002 Brothers in Arms Langhorne Creek Shiraz $33: Dark to very inky red/purple. Big, big oak in this one, spicy vanilla, lifted VA/crushed ants hinting plenty of extraction, but was it a contender or pretender? While the palate again featured obvious vanilla oak and ripe blackberry fruit, it was surprisingly mid-weight and relatively well balanced, be it a little simple in the time period. I didn’t quite know what to make of this and took the middle ground; I knew the heavy oak treatment was always going to get someone’s least preferred vote.
My ranking: 5th place
Panel ranking: =7th place
Votes: 0 most, 3 second & third, 1 least preferred
2004 Kilikanoon Killerman’s Run Clare Valley Shiraz $15: Dark to inky purple with a glowing hue. Wow, what a nose: this had the big oak of the previous wine but also the fruit to match, opening with creamy vanilla/dark, nutty chocolate and a lick of VA. The palate was just as impressive, a dark chocolate entry followed by powerful, ripe/smoky fruit that followed through to the end of the long finish. In the taste off for my most preferred elegance won out, but this one equally stood out for its power and balance. Another very impressive over-achiever.
My ranking: 2nd place
Panel ranking: =1st place
Votes: 2 most, 5 second & third, 0 least preferred
2005 St. Johns Blood & Courage Barossa Shiraz $20: Dark to inky black/purple with a glowing hue. Another impressive, classic Barossa nose opening with toasty/fireplace oak and grilled nuts, followed by ripe blackberry/mulberry fruit with a hint of prune, developing some earthy/floral scents. Likewise the palate was full throttle, with earthy/blackberry fruit laced with black pepper and grainy/gravely tannins, finishing long and sweet. Trying it double-blind this really reminded me of the Kalleske at the Edinburgh Shiraz Challenge back in June; at first I wasn’t too surprised when this one’s identity was revealed, but my jaw hit the table when the following bottle’s was…
My ranking: 3rd place
Panel ranking: =4th place
Votes: 1 most, 2 second & third, 0 least preferred
2004 Kalleske Greenock Shiraz $38: Dark to very inky purple. Something seriously wrong with the nose of this: awful dirty/sweaty socks, developing some earth and faint hints of chocolate with a hell of a lot of work. The palate was also stinky and a little flat, slightly porty with some pepper but seriously lacking oomph (although a few of the panel raved about it). I’ve tried the Kalleske enough times to know this isn’t anything like it (unlike the previous wine which was very much so) – I’m seriously wondering if my glasses (or the bottles) were mixed up.
My ranking: 9th place
Panel ranking: 3rd place
Votes: 2 most, 2 second and third, 0 least preferred
2004 Shaw & Smith Adelaide Hills Shiraz $30: The first bottle was mildly corked, but it was detected very early and replaced by a handy spare from the store downstairs. Dark to inky purple. Very toasty charred oak at first followed by white pepper and a distinct tinge of green, and later on a slight hint of barnyard. Those white pepper and green characters are there on the palate too with surprisingly ripe fruit, finishing minty with a hint of alcohol. This was really lost among these big Barossa boys and would have been better in a cooler climate selection.
My ranking: 8th place
Panel ranking: 9th place
Votes: 0 most, 1 second & third, 1 least preferred
2004 Massena 11th Hour Barossa Shiraz $31: Dark to inky purple. Really weird, opening with ripe, raisin fruit with a tinge of green, followed by tangy/rotting citrus, dried apricots and florals – there’s got to be Viognier in this. Likewise the palate features incredibly ripe fruit and/or Viognier gone wild, with dominant boot polish/orange rind characters and a soft, long but syrupy apricot finish. While at least this didn’t have those awful, sharp Viognier tannins, as one panelist commented it’s too close to a botrytis wine for its own good.
My ranking: 7th place
Panel ranking: =7th place
Votes: 2 most, 2 second & third, 4 least preferred
2002 Kabminye Barossa Shiraz $25: Dark to inky crimson. Opened very earthy with dirty/stinky oak, developing some sweet dark chocolate but also rather disturbing popcorn/rubber characters too. The palate was just as disappointing, the stinky characters an unwelcome distraction from the raspberry fruit/chocolate characters and rather good, chalky structure. Clearly there seemed to be a major brett problem, and while initially I thought this must have been a bad bottle, my notes when it was first released (October 2004) suggested there was a trace back then, be it at a far less offensive level. Disappointing.
My ranking: 10th place
Panel ranking: 10th place
Votes: 1 most, 1 second & third, 4 least preferred
Cheers,
Ian
TN: Blacktongues - Current Release Shiraz 16/8/06
TN: Blacktongues - Current Release Shiraz 16/8/06
Last edited by n4sir on Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone.
Re: TN: Blacktongues - Current Release Shiraz
n4sir wrote:
2005 Heartland Limestone Coast Langhorne Creek Shiraz $14: Dark to very inky purple with a glowing hue. The nose had its similarities to the Majella at first with elegant pepper and cherry characters, but with breathing became noticeably riper displaying blackberry and some floral hints – some Viognier maybe? In contrast the palate didn’t try at all to be subtle, opening with spicy blackberry fruit followed by a wave of tannin and alcohol heat mid-palate, finishing quite dry. Not my style.
Ian,
I found the same thing with the apparent Viognier when I tasted this last month (short note below). However Ben didn't mention this, and nobody else at the tasting seemed to pick it up, so I didn't bother asking. FWIW, the 04 vintage was 100% Shiraz.
2005 Heartland Shiraz
Sweet, ultra ripe fruit nose, almost a little confected. Is there any Viognier in this? Seemed a little light-on on the palate, compared with the expressive nose. Didn’t really do it for me. Drink now.