Made from the pick of the grapes grown in the St Jakobi block. Fermentation in open fermenters then finished in new and one year old French oak hogsheads. Post fermentation, it’s racked and matured for 22 months in the same oak barrels. Why am I telling you all this? Because the wine is super good but it doesn’t need a lot of words to describe it.
It smells of ripe blackberries, cherries, chocolate, brown spice, tar, anise and seaspray. A clean cherry, berry entry with a fleshier plum mid palate. Long strands of fine tannin, peppered chocolate and a little turned earth on an exemplary finish of great conviction. It’s not a rabble of flavours. It’s just fantastic fruit treated with all the respect due to it. Not a bells and whistles wine, but quite brilliant none the less.
Winery website- http://www.dutschkewines.com/
I have a bottle of Dutschke Oscar Semmler 2006 Shiraz. When would be a good time to open consume the bottle.
It’s probably drinking well right now Peter. I haven’t tasted a bottle since this review so there’s a lot of guess work involved. I’m of the opinion that it’s better to crack a bottle too early rather than too late. Having said that if you’ve got it in a temperature controlled cellar or wine fridge and enjoy more tertiary or developed characters then another three to six years might be worth a punt.
The Dutschke 2004 & 2005 wines are delish right now, though there’s no reason to believe they’ll head into the second half of their peak any time soon. 2006 likewise. On one hand, you have plenty of time ahead to enjoy the bottle whilst retaining primary oomph and sweet black fruits. Though as Jeremy says, too early is never a really bad thing, especially if you have more than an hour on the day to go through the bottle and watch it awaken and flourish.
Thanks Tony. Always great to have people filling out the picture when I haven’t seen a wine in while. Much appreciated.