Pure Hunter Valley nose. It's fragrant, earthy, clean, showing hints of aged sweetness and even a bit of iron. I find the aroma very detailed, almost like a fabric that, upon looking more closely, keeps resolving to a finer and finer weave.
Very well balanced in the mouth. It's still quite fresh with good acid and a flavour profile that, for some aged complexity, remains quite primary, What I like most about this wine is the interplay of deep, substantial berry fruit with an array of high toned notes, some regional and some deriving from bottle age. There's a beguiling sour thread that runs alongside this earthy fruit and detail too. Very generous and giving, flavour floods the mouth without an ounce of heaviness. This is the kind of wine that is described as "mouth coating;" tannins appear as if from nowhere and settle in a plush layer on the tongue, coating it with sweet flavour. A tiny bit of raw bitterness registers on the finish, a slight distraction perhaps but not too much so. Lovely sweet finish.
Very much an Australian "burgundy" style. Good bottles of this should go for a little while yet, although I find for my taste it is drinking exceptionally well now.
Good to hear. i picked up a 6 of the cellar release 98 and haven't touched a bottle yet, rather looking forward to it.
Oh, I'd love to read your thoughts on the 1998! I'm not fortunate enough to have tasted that release at any stage. Wonderfully typical Hunter Shiraz, this wine. Maybe a slight question mark with respect to oak handling, at least on the basis of this bottle, but I still loved it.