The nice thing about going to friend's place for dinner is the potential for wine surprises - my cellar inventory is pretty much committed to memory so there are no surprises at home. Fortunately our friends Andreas and Rita are wine lovers and collectors, so I figured the surprise would be a good one.For a summer barbeque Andreas served a 2001 Kilikanoon "Oracle", a Shiraz from Australia's Clare Valley. Deep, inky purple in the glass (but of course!), with a classic Aussie nose of black pepper, violets, and blackberries, some hints of almond extract, cedar and coffee as well - nice. Big, dark berry fruit in a soft, velvety textured wine, but with prominent tannins and a touch awkward. The long finish hints at a few more years of cellar time, but nice today after a decant.
cork. 14% alcohol
Score: 17/20
If you love the Aussie Shiraz this won't disappoint, and it is different from the Barossas, but for a rather celebrated wine (95 pts from you know who) it was, well...I wouldn't have used the word "profound".
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2 comments:
Tasty. I have a later vintage of this (I think 2004) in my cellar waiting the appropriate moment. This is one of those highly rated wines that I hope is worth the price (I enjoyed the lower priced cab bottling from the same producer). Good to hear you liked it.
Hi Shea - this was a 95-pt wine according to RP, but I was underwhelmed for the price/legendary status. I had the less expensive Killerman's Run and rated it higher - it would be very cool to put those (Oracle, Killerman's) head to head and see if that opinion held (who knows, bottle variation?)
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