St Hallett, Old Block Shiraz, Barossa Valley

Agree with all previous notes. Glorious nose, with a little VA twist for interest value. Terrific intensity, line and finish in the mouth with the added bonus of be so bloody elegant for a block buster old-vine Barossa Shiraz. World class!!

Medium depth garnet. Medium + aromas of dried red and black fruits, cherry, cooked plum, chocolate, coffee tobacco leaf, leather. Some hints of cedar. In the palate medium to high alcohol, medium acidity, fine grained well integrated tannins, full bodied, medium + intensity Flavours of black cherry, dried red & black cherry, dried herbs oregano, leather, tobacco leaf, cedar, forest floor, chocolate, vegemite Long finish with lingering savoury notes. A very good quality wine with lots of tertiary characteristics that …

This wine is the answer to the question about if Aussie Shiraz can age. The cork was a bit crumbly, but the wine was still youthful and vibrant. Still lots of cherry red fruit flavors with a hint of sweet oak. Drank this with two serious francophiles who are not into Aussie wines and this really blew them away.

Took a while to get going - opened at 12, decanted at 5 and still looking for inspiration at 8. Once in the glass it seemed to find its legs and start showing its true self. Wonderful complex nose and big fruit on the palate - lingering on well past expectations. A very nice drop and probably still a little way to go. I ahve another bottle in the cellar and will await that with baited breath and maybe a …

Opened 8 hours ahead and decanted 3 hours before drinking over a leisurely dinner with Runny. Dark ruby translucent colour. Reticent saddle leather nose, deep red cherries, quite spicy. Palate is caramel, sweet fruits and high acidity with heat on the back end. Then it all evened out and put on weight and got all chewy and unctuous with coffee coming out with the caramel. Great length and the beginnings of resonance in the head. This was surprisingly similar to …

Sensational, medium body, very smooth, long finish.

Lovely first outing for this. Dark but not opaque garnet; blackberry, liquorice, vanilla on the nose; expands out through the palate taking on a more savoury tone; very long and smooth. Noticeably spicy from the mid-palate on. Well integrated though and a sherbetty zest at the margins keeps it bright.

UK Wine Forum 'Vintage Pairs' Offline (Le Colombier, London) : Slightly sweaty nose. Older. early 90s? Minty palate. A bit of heat on the end. Seen slightly better days I think. **

Dinner at Chez Patrick Sun Street, Hong Kong (Chez Patrick Sun Street, Hong Kong) : Very deep red young-looking colour with no trace of fading. Gorgeous and complex nose of toffees, caramel, eucalyptus and saddles. The palate is a fantastic concentrated depth of cherries, plums, coffee, toffee and saddle leather. Lovely mellow and well rounded mouthfeel with some attractive chewiness. Good length with some alluring "in your head" qualities. An absolute contrast to the D'Arenberg Dead Arm 1995 we drank …

Great nose with leather and spice. Fruit there too. The palate was small dark and red berries, with only medium weight. Fantastic with food. Very long finish. Still plenty of tannin there to support the fruit, and could go for another 5 years, but ready to drink now. Yum.

Decanter Australia and New Zealand Fine Wine Encounter (The Landmark Hotel, London.) : Classic nose of black fruits, hints of pepper, spice, earth and gamey aromas. The palate is full, rounded and integrated, well balanced with black berries, lots of pepper and a long finish. It’s noticeably aged but still has plenty of life left in it yet. 92+

NobleRottersSydney - Blind Shiraz Options 1991 or prior (Darling Mills, Glebe) : With the region & vintage revealed, this wine was picked by Ric! And quite polarising it was too. Some sweet aged, meaty, fruit cake aromas which promised much, but didn’t quite deliver on the palate. This one seemed to change in the glass, coming together and drifting apart alternately. Reasonably full on the palate, and in truth not too bad a wine, but somehow we felt the 91 …