I’ve been opening one of these every six to 12 months or so, and it keeps getting better and better. Lots of blackberry, strawberry, leather, and herbs on the nose. The taste follows the nose, but with a bit of chocolate thrown in, with even stronger leather/meat notes. Still quite a bit of strong midpalate acidity, which gives way to a moderate amount of fine grained tannins. If you served this blind, I don’t think most people would guess Australia–they probably would guess CdP or perhaps Hermitage.
It continues to improve with aeration (presently at about the 30 minute mark), and it should still have at least another 5-7 years worth of vibrant life in it. Great wine, and somewhere between a “wow” and a “wow plus.”
Bruce
Thanks for the note Bruce. I absolutely love the older Jasper Hill’s. I just picked up a mag of the 1997.
Cheers,
My favorite winery in Australia. Certified biodynamic too.
Great note. I have loved these wines over the years. I drank my last 95 a few years back, but just like all the others, it was great. I usually comparing new world wines to old world wines, but I really think this is one of the rare producers that can really achieve it.
I think…the one great bottle that Phil and I had was the 95.
Thanks for the note Bruce, I have a btl of 2003 left, maybe I should wait a few years on it.
Dan–Not sure if I’ve had the 2003 JH GP, but if it follows the typical aging curve, there’s no rush.
Bruce
Just a quick update note. I had opened this wine two days ago, and stuck most of the bottle back in the fridge. Today, it’s still going strong. There’s little bit more of the herbal/mint quality in the wine, and the midpalate fruit is slightly attenuated from Day 1, but otherwise it’s still really, really good.
Bruce