| Vintage 2002 Australian Shiraz Tasting Report |
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For this month’s tasting report, we managed to
start the year off with a first. Although we have
tasted Syrah/Shiraz’s before, we had never done
something quite like this. I pulled six Australian
Shiraz wines from the 2002 vintage out of my
cellar, decanted them for about an hour or so and
set them up for a blind comparative tasting. I of
course knew what each wine was, but the rest of
the staff did not know. Forrest brought two more
Shiraz wines from the same vintage to add a little
fun to our tasting. Now the 2002 Vintage in
Australia was quite a conundrum for many
different wineries throughout the South East.
Some wineries made fantastic wine that year,
while many others did not.
The six wines from my cellar all had a Wine
Spectator or Robert Parker score of 90 points or
better. The highest scoring wine was the
Forefathers with a WS score of 92 and the d’
Arenberg had a WS score of 91. Forrest brought
the Kay Brothers and the Penfold’s and I am not
sure about the scores those wines had received
from the critics, however, I can tell you that the
2003 Kay Brother’s Hillside was a 95 point wine
and do I even need to mention Penfold’s top guns
like the Grange and RWT?
All of the wines in this tasting were consistently
good and very pleasing, but there were a few that
stood out both for better and for worse. The
Forefather’s for example, seemed like it was the
furthest along in its maturation process, which
resulted in a very pleasing taste and soft tannins
on the palate. The d’Arenberg by contrast,
contained a little Viognier (a white wine grape) in
the blend and it made this wine very tangy and
unusual in a tasting of solid contenders.
Therefore, it became the odd wine out. We had an
assortment of spicy foods to go along with the
wines, which played off the spicy pepper
characteristics of Shiraz wines. All in all, it was
fun to try something different format wise and I
think we will be doing this again with other
varietals and countries in the coming months
ahead.
Here are the results.
start the year off with a first. Although we have
tasted Syrah/Shiraz’s before, we had never done
something quite like this. I pulled six Australian
Shiraz wines from the 2002 vintage out of my
cellar, decanted them for about an hour or so and
set them up for a blind comparative tasting. I of
course knew what each wine was, but the rest of
the staff did not know. Forrest brought two more
Shiraz wines from the same vintage to add a little
fun to our tasting. Now the 2002 Vintage in
Australia was quite a conundrum for many
different wineries throughout the South East.
Some wineries made fantastic wine that year,
while many others did not.
The six wines from my cellar all had a Wine
Spectator or Robert Parker score of 90 points or
better. The highest scoring wine was the
Forefathers with a WS score of 92 and the d’
Arenberg had a WS score of 91. Forrest brought
the Kay Brothers and the Penfold’s and I am not
sure about the scores those wines had received
from the critics, however, I can tell you that the
2003 Kay Brother’s Hillside was a 95 point wine
and do I even need to mention Penfold’s top guns
like the Grange and RWT?
All of the wines in this tasting were consistently
good and very pleasing, but there were a few that
stood out both for better and for worse. The
Forefather’s for example, seemed like it was the
furthest along in its maturation process, which
resulted in a very pleasing taste and soft tannins
on the palate. The d’Arenberg by contrast,
contained a little Viognier (a white wine grape) in
the blend and it made this wine very tangy and
unusual in a tasting of solid contenders.
Therefore, it became the odd wine out. We had an
assortment of spicy foods to go along with the
wines, which played off the spicy pepper
characteristics of Shiraz wines. All in all, it was
fun to try something different format wise and I
think we will be doing this again with other
varietals and countries in the coming months
ahead.
Here are the results.
| Forefathers 2002 Shiraz – McLaren Vale, Australia |
Notes – Big toast and caramel aromas on
the nose with a soft, lush mouthfeel that
contained rounded out red fruit. The
tannins were more subdued in this wine
compared to the others and that may be
had purchased and it spent at least a year
under my bar in the cabinet until I got my
wine cellar last year. I have now had the
Forefathers Sauvignon Blanc (From New
Zealand), the Forefathers Cabernet
Sauvignon (From California) and now the
Shiraz. All three have been fantastic so
there must be something to these guys!
the nose with a soft, lush mouthfeel that
contained rounded out red fruit. The
tannins were more subdued in this wine
compared to the others and that may be
had purchased and it spent at least a year
under my bar in the cabinet until I got my
wine cellar last year. I have now had the
Forefathers Sauvignon Blanc (From New
Zealand), the Forefathers Cabernet
Sauvignon (From California) and now the
Shiraz. All three have been fantastic so
there must be something to these guys!
| Score - A- |
| Price - $25.00 |
| Kay Brother’s Amery Vineyards 2002 Shiraz – McLaren Vale, Australia |
Notes – The nose features buttery toast
and dark fruits like cassis, on the palate
the dark fruits persist along with peppery
spice. Great structure and built to age a
while. This wine didn’t get to spend any
time in a decanter like six of the other
wines, but it didn’t seem to matter much.
Fantastic! Out of the bunch, it may have
been the most age worthy and for me, it
was a tough toss up between this wine and
the Forefathers. Both were very good.
and dark fruits like cassis, on the palate
the dark fruits persist along with peppery
spice. Great structure and built to age a
while. This wine didn’t get to spend any
time in a decanter like six of the other
wines, but it didn’t seem to matter much.
Fantastic! Out of the bunch, it may have
been the most age worthy and for me, it
was a tough toss up between this wine and
the Forefathers. Both were very good.
| Score - B+ |
| Around - $27.00 |
| Shingleback 2002 Shiraz – McLaren Vale, Australia |
Notes – Another Shiraz that has a lush
mouthfeel full of big spicy fruits like
blackberries and a touch of vanilla and
pepper on the nose. I was unfamiliar with
Shingleback when I bought it. I went on
Robert Parker’s recommendation.
Interestingly enough, I gave it the same
score as he did. This was a crowd
pleaser. Many people liked this wine and
it was even a few people’s favorite.
Pretty solid.
mouthfeel full of big spicy fruits like
blackberries and a touch of vanilla and
pepper on the nose. I was unfamiliar with
Shingleback when I bought it. I went on
Robert Parker’s recommendation.
Interestingly enough, I gave it the same
score as he did. This was a crowd
pleaser. Many people liked this wine and
it was even a few people’s favorite.
Pretty solid.
| Score - B+ |
| Around - $22.00 |
| Penfold’s 2002 Bin 128 Shiraz– Coonawarra, Australia |
Notes – A little earthy with red fruits
showing on the nose, but on the palate, it
is switches to blackberries and maybe
even blueberry. Well rounded and
smooth, technically sound. This might
have been the one wine in the tasting that
you secretly wanted to route against
because Penfold’s is so huge, but you just
can’t deny the fact that they know how to
make quality wines. It is certainly not in
the same league as their RWT or Grange,
but neither is the price of this Shiraz.
showing on the nose, but on the palate, it
is switches to blackberries and maybe
even blueberry. Well rounded and
smooth, technically sound. This might
have been the one wine in the tasting that
you secretly wanted to route against
because Penfold’s is so huge, but you just
can’t deny the fact that they know how to
make quality wines. It is certainly not in
the same league as their RWT or Grange,
but neither is the price of this Shiraz.
| Score - B+ |
| About - $20.00 |
| The Gate 2002 Shiraz – McLaren Vale, Australia |
Notes – A healthy dose of spices and
white pepper on the nose with a medium
bodied frame that contains plenty of tasty
dark fruits and spice. Another wine that I
knew very little about and bought on
Parker’s recommendation and once again,
I gave it the same score he did. Hmm,
two for two here, maybe I should go to
work for Robert Parker. Yeah, right!
This wine was a very deep purple...no, no
smoke on the water, I’m sure that was
coming next!
white pepper on the nose with a medium
bodied frame that contains plenty of tasty
dark fruits and spice. Another wine that I
knew very little about and bought on
Parker’s recommendation and once again,
I gave it the same score he did. Hmm,
two for two here, maybe I should go to
work for Robert Parker. Yeah, right!
This wine was a very deep purple...no, no
smoke on the water, I’m sure that was
coming next!
| Score - B+ |
| Price - $30.00 |
| Kangarilla Road 2002 Shiraz – McLaren Vale, Australia |
Notes – Loaded down with raspberries,
cloves and burnt toast on the nose that
Zinfandel. See our Zinfandel Tasting
Report. I had high hopes for this wine
because of that Zin. I guess you could say
this wine was very good, but it didn’t stand
out above the rest by any means.
cloves and burnt toast on the nose that
Zinfandel. See our Zinfandel Tasting
Report. I had high hopes for this wine
because of that Zin. I guess you could say
this wine was very good, but it didn’t stand
out above the rest by any means.
| Score - B |
| Peter Lehmann 2002 Shiraz – Barossa, Australia |
Notes – Aromas reminiscent of vanilla,
caramel and butterscotch, am I in Baskin
Robbins??? Very buttery from oak and
perhaps malolactic fermentation. There
are also plenty of red licorice flavors that
come thru, but the fruit I’m afraid is a bit
muted. I’m noticing a trend with Harvey
Steimann of the Wine Spectator. He likes
buttery oak tasting wines. I found the
same characteristics in a Pinot Noir he
rated highly from Oregon, also his
territory. I think that secretly most would
have hoped they like this the best because
it was the cheapest, but alas, it couldn’t
keep up with the others.
caramel and butterscotch, am I in Baskin
Robbins??? Very buttery from oak and
perhaps malolactic fermentation. There
are also plenty of red licorice flavors that
come thru, but the fruit I’m afraid is a bit
muted. I’m noticing a trend with Harvey
Steimann of the Wine Spectator. He likes
buttery oak tasting wines. I found the
same characteristics in a Pinot Noir he
rated highly from Oregon, also his
territory. I think that secretly most would
have hoped they like this the best because
it was the cheapest, but alas, it couldn’t
keep up with the others.
| Price - $15.00 |
| d’Arenberg 2002 The Laughing Magpie Shiraz – McLaren Vale, Australia |
Notes – An unusual nose displaying
cloves and eucalyptus with some red
cherry fruit. On the palate, very tart and
acidic, which throws you off, and also a bit
tangy tasting. The odd thing is that is still
very tannic. A very confusing wine to say
the least. I think the Viognier that they
added to this wine works against it. I also
think they don’t really care because they
make a ton of other Shiraz wines that are
outstanding, like the Dead Arm and this
wine may have been more of an
experiment to them. Tough to compare
with the other wines from our tasting
because it was so different.
cloves and eucalyptus with some red
cherry fruit. On the palate, very tart and
acidic, which throws you off, and also a bit
tangy tasting. The odd thing is that is still
very tannic. A very confusing wine to say
the least. I think the Viognier that they
added to this wine works against it. I also
think they don’t really care because they
make a ton of other Shiraz wines that are
outstanding, like the Dead Arm and this
wine may have been more of an
experiment to them. Tough to compare
with the other wines from our tasting
because it was so different.
| Price - $35.00 |
| Score - B |
| Score - B |