TN's: 2003 Waterford Shiraz (South Africa, Stellenbosch)

this wine just never bores me … last night the 2003 Waterford Shiraz delivered the goods again! I can’t say enough good things about this wine. It’s been consistent over 5 or 6 (maybe 7?) bottles over the past two years, and isn’t falling-off in the least. It’s a beautiful departure from the heady CA Syrahs that I often drink. By no means does the Waterford lack strength, it just carries its strength with grace … if your typical CA Syrah is a body builder (Ahh-nuld), then the Waterford is a world-class decathlete. Awesome awesome awesome wine!

here’s my notes:

3/11/2009 rated 93 points:
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over 3 hours –

NOSE: earthy bouquet of coffee, leather, scorched earth, smoke, and charred meat; secondary notes of deep plum and prune; very “french-like”; not alcoholic.

BODY: lots of superfine particulate matter suspended in the wine; earthy garnet color of great medium-deep depth with some slight orangeing at the edges; medium bodied.

TASTE: earthy on the palate: sweet leather; some funk; fig; hint of smoke; nice underlying minerality; beautiful acidity for a Syrah (yes, it is labeled as “Shiraz,” but I find it hard to refer to it as such because this wine is a dead ringer for Cote Rotie); very well-balanced; slight hole at back of mid-palate; not hot – 14% alc. is well-hidden; long finish (50 sec.); this wine just never gets boring! … this bottle was probably the fifth or sixth one I’ve had, and each one is as pleasurable as the one before it. One of the very few wines that I’ve made multiple purchases of.

B: 50, 5, 13, 17, 8 = 93


12/14/2008: similar to last two notes … this bottle was a bit more fruity, acidic, and mineraly than the past two. Very nice wine.


10/29/2008 rated 94 points:
– popped & poured into decanter immediately before tasting –
– tasted non-blind over 3 hours –

NOSE: complex bouquet with primary aromas of smoke, leather, and earthy blackberries; secondary aromas of funk, cherry, and roasted beef make this wine’s bouquet a pleasure to explore; the bouquet isn’t candied or sweet, and while this is smoky, it’s not as smoky as most other S.A. wines I’ve tried.

BODY: dark garnet color of medium-deep depth has slight bricking at edges; lots of fine particulate matter is suspended in the wine; medium bodied.

TASTE: this is a wonderful expression of the Syrah grape: minerals and earth attack the front palate before transitioning to blackberries on the mid palate, and finally ending with a complex melange of leather, peat, soy and smoke on the long finish (60-65 sec.); the tannins are very well-integrated, and a perfect amount of juicy acidity makes this wine nearly perfectly in-balance; the finish truly is the epitome of “iron fist in velvet glove” … the finish had the same profile (but different flavors) as that of a well-made Pinot Noir; there’s also slight elements of spicy funk and minerality lurking in the background; I can see how some may find this wine too smoky (my wife did), but as I said before the smoke isn’t nearly as strong as other S.A. wines I’ve had, and I think the smoke is not at all overbearing; if you like French wine, and you like a good Islay single malt, then you’ll likely love this wine. It’s not sweet, concentrated, extracted or overripe. I initially scored this wine one point higher in the 20-point “Taste” category than is indicated below, but the wine did start to lose some of its pizzaz as it reached room temperature, so I knocked it down from “19” to “18”. The fact that I recently found this for only $13 a bottle is really icing on the cake … I’d pay $60 for this stuff. An absolutely stunning wine … I’m beside myself! Drink now or over the next 5 years.

B: 50, 5, 13, 18, 8 = 94


10/22/2007 rated 92 points:
NOSE: Barnyard, slight smokiness, leather, soy hints of dark berries … possibly blueberry?, mocha/espresso…overall, a very complex and interesting bouquet.

BODY: This wine is medium-light bodied. Very fine particulate matter suspended in this mature garnet colored wine.

TASTE: a dead ringer for a Northern Rhone Syrah, this is quite nice. Very nicely balanced: not nearly as tannic as many CA syrahs, for example. This is definitely an earthy, rather than fruity, syrah. Bitter chocolate notes on the mid-pallate.

This wine was a nice surprise to me, as I’d never before found a South African wine to my liking. This is a total ringer for a No. Rhone Syrah. Absolutely delicious, and ridiculous QPR at $18!

50, 4, 13, 17, 8 = 92

  • 2003 Waterford Shiraz - South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch (4/28/2011)
    – bottle opened one hour before being poured into a decanter –
    – tasted non-blind over a couple hours after initial decant –

NOSE: very oaky at first – oak slowly subsided with air; background stony minerality; roasty; currants and a hint of red berry.

BODY: superfine particulate matter present; garnet color of medium-deep depth; medium-full bodied.

TASTE: oak and some noticeable gamey/leathery funk; dark fruits (prune); oakier than past bottles; touch smoky; tannins are present, but smooth; good acid-tannin balance; long finish. This bottle is a bit less resolved than most previous bottles, but the underlying material is the same. Drink over next 5 - 10 years.

B: 50, 5, 12, 17, 8 = (92 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

2003 Waterford Estate Shiraz - South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch (9/30/2014)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over a few hours –

NOSE: expressive; smoky chocolate; horse tacking; “deep”.

BODY: medium-grained particulate matter present; violet-burgundy color of medium to medium-deep depth; medium to medium-full bodied.

TASTE: purple fruits; noticeable brett; good acidity; alc. can be felt a little; with time, it becomes apparent that the brett is quite strong in this bottle; tannins resolved; previous bottles have hinted at brett, but this one is just teeming with it — major bummer, as this is my last bottle of this wine, which I’ve always considered to be one of the best QPR buys I’ve come across. NR (flawed)

Posted from CellarTracker