Do you mark a wine down because all you’d personally want is a sip or two rather than a glass? That would mean some low scores for many exceptional fortifieds on this site. But then again, you’re not really supposed to pour a couple of 150ml glasses of Rare Rutherglen Tokay (or Topaque…) to drink with dinner. This is a table wine. Or many will treat it as such. Perhaps this endless desire to categorise things is part of the problem. If I did pour a glass of this it would be at the end of a meal, perhaps by itself or perhaps with some hard cheese. I’d sit on it. Contemplate it. I wouldn’t be glugging it down.
Spent a whopping 30 months in new American and French hogsheads. It’s obviously too young to be showing at its best right now. Thick with flavour and coconut oak. Tarry as well. Plums, raisined black fruits, licorice, jerky acidity and lots of wide, woody tannin. It’s going to take a while for that forced acid to settle and for the oak to sink in. It has warmth and you can smell the alcohol but it carries it surprisingly well. Certainly has layers and depth. I like the bitter chocolate notes on the back-palate. An old-fashioned blockbuster. Will divide a lot of drinkers. I’ll sit in the middle because I don’t mind it, think it does what it sets out to do well and I’d drink a small glass of it late at night…but only about once a year. 90+ Good
Region: Barossa Valley
Alcohol: 14.8%
Closure: Screwcap
Price: $110
Tasted: May 2013
Did you get sent the GTS JP? Interesting to see if you like that more. I had a similar impression to you of this one.
No luck AG, just got this and the 2010 Barossa Shiraz for now. Would be keen to try the GTS.