Hunter Valley shiraz from one of the 3 vintages in living memory worth seeking out fron the Hunter Valley.
Second wine of the evening following the 1990 Guigal Hermitage. The 2 wines were selected because the Hunter is considered to be the most Rhone-like of Australia's regions.
An intense deep purple colour, with no signs of bricking. Looked about half its age.
On the nose and palate primary fruit flavours predominated. Lots of blackberries, some plums. A faint hint of white pepper. Some touches of vanilla were also apparent. A few muted earthy tones. Agressive finely grained tannins and balanced acid.
Length of about a minute.
I've held onto this bottle for about 12 years and I still managed to DRAB it. This is a genuine 30 year wine that has only just got out of the starters block.
If tasted blind I would have picked this as being a shiraz of no more than 5 years of age.
95 points.
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