Brokenwood, Mistress Block Vineyard Shiraz, Hunter Valley

Stored in commercial wine storage since new. Opened in fine condition. Initially on the nose the wine just screamed Hunter shiraz, still with some primary fruit. Remarkable. This dissipated quickly and the secondary and tertiary flavours and aromas coming to the fore. Complex, balanced, fine but slightly drying tannins. Red fruits, leather, spices. Just gorgeous aged wine. One of my very best bottles in all of 2023.

Dark, leafy, heady dark florals, sweet tobacco, aged leather, black plums, barnyard and black pepper. Lifted acidity, some good concentration and balance, and absolutely supple. Drinking at a beautiful place right now, concentrated, elegant, translucent, expressive. Soft black loam and some ash. Beautiful!

Wow, this wine has aged very well. I think the last of the vintages under cork. Tertiary flavours have developed in the wine. Over 2 hours , over lunch, the wine opened up. Initially we all thought the wine may have peaked but as lunch went on and we cam back to the wine my lunch companions were saying that the wine had another 6-12 months in it. Alas the 2001 Rosemont Show Reserve Shiraz and the 2001 St Hallet …

{screwcap, 14.5%} Looks its age. Refined nose, earth, dust, tobacco, mild cherry and plum aromas, past first youth. Medium dusty tannins and with moderate acidity, it’s fairly even across the tongue. It seems to have all the ingredients but just lacks a bit of spark. Flavours follows the nose, but the finish is a bit dull somehow, lacking freshness and length. Drink up I’d say.

This is lovely. Screams Brokenwood to me. This being at fuller bodied end of the spectrum but no worse for it. Very good balance. Solid dose of plush purple berries, ash and tobacco. The oak was more prominent on night one. Second day it dissipated and a lovely streak of ripe blueberry has come forward in the mix. In a good spot right now, close to peak, but not looking like it’ll fade any time soon.

Inviting with indications of further improvement in the bottle.

Tremendous bottle with a few good years left at peak. Great fruit and layers of complexity. Enjoy!

{screwcap,14,5%} This is an extravagance for a not-special Tuesday night, but there you go. Deep ruby still. Initially surprisingly fruity blueberry and plum nose, turning earthy with time in the glass. The palate is medium/full bodied, with ripe plum and blueberry fruits leavened with a spicy but not peppery character. Picks up earth and tobacco as it sits in the glass. It has medium/high acid, medium/low dusty tannins and has a medium length ginish that's just a little warmer than …