Kilikanoon Shiraz Oracle 2004:
Had this with my father (from his cellar) the other day. Still packed with fruit but calmed down a lot since release. The fruit is mostly blackberry and maybe a little black currant. Some mixed spices are tossed around too and a little oak pops up. This wine has gone from a punch in the mouth, exotic wine to a more charming, personable, albeit tame little play-toy. I think it will still be around for another five to ten years, though I wonder what its evolution will be like. 90 points
Torbreck Run Rig 2002:
I’m not sure what happened to this bottle. This was definitely flawed in some way though it is difficult to describe. Smelled like a slaughterhouse- like blood, raw bacon and smoke . . . and well decay. No fruit at all. The next day I checked it out again and rigor mortis had set in. A shame since I have had this wine a few times and it has been good. NR/Flawed
Turkey Flat Vineyards Shiraz 2004:
Smells like shoe polish and burnt hair (this is the good part). Tastes like (a hypothetical situation since I can’t imagine even Jackass attempting this) bad Indian food tossed into a used baby diaper then doused with grocery store cologne and left in a bucket outside overnight in the desert- only to be co-fermented with Marsanne and served in a glass bottle with Turkey Flat label. Over-the-top? F-U I had to take a sip! 51 points*
***** 1 point because they went to the trouble of bottling it and putting a nice label on it.
Chris Ringland Shiraz 1998:
As impressive of a showing of this wine as I have had. Every time you taste this wine, if you can wade through all of the mess of up front fruit and gobs of glycerin, you can see the fine winemaking skill behind it. However it is often easy to ask yourself: whats the point? The wines are way over-priced and are designed for a singular kind of wine drinker. Every now then though you get lucky and pull something like this out, treat it properly and get blown away. You still can’t convince anyone it was worth the tariff but at least you can say it was a really good drink. Still waiting for a perfect bottle or that invite from Ringers to go drink one on a house boat with Justin . . . But, for one night anyway, this wine lived up to expectations . . . not TWA expectations necessarily but mine. 95 points