This wine was tasted blind at a Shiraz/Syrah tasting we hosted. It was opened about 2 hours prior to consuming but was not decanted. This wine cost about $10.
This wine smelled a bit thin, if that is possible, with traces of acetone but quickly followed by macerated cherries. Faint and sparse thin legs were there, too. medium to light dark color. Around the ring a bit translucent. Upon tasting I sensed some pretty basic dark fruits, cherries, vanilla, and other simple fruit tastes. The acids in this wine were not properly balanced. Finish on the shorter side.
The '98 used to be our house red for its delicious plummy fruitiness. We've about run out of the '98 and the '99 was not nearly as good. We thought the 2000 was tasty, but we've moved to the Marquis Philips 9 as our house Shiraz. The 2001 MP9 (I think that's the year we have) keeps improving with every bottle we open.
As a point of interest, we have it stored at 68 degrees.
Derek
acaronianasa
Posts: 640 | Location: Upper East Side, New York City | Registered: Feb 26, 2002
Agree with Fanman... The Barossa is great for the cash. This will give MP a run for its' money. Not quite but close. The Black Opal Barossa Cab/Merlot blend is another nice value. I try keep these two in stock at all times. The regular Black Opal is just too thin.
