Sunday, October 13, 2013

4 Icon Wines, over 10 years old

As it happened, I drank four highly regarded wines over the last few days (a little while ago):

-2002 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling
-2001 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon
-2002 Torbreck RunRig
-2002 Barossa Valley Estate E&E Shiraz

Most of the time, wines are compared in the same class, but what about comparing what you might have drunk? The criterion in this case is really the enjoyment factor, and I am not going into a detailed analysis here.

Needless to say, all the wines were quite outstanding. I am more of a red wine drinker, but I got most enjoyment out of the Grosset Riesling. This wine is simply fantastic. Age has added  toast and lemongrass flavours, but the wine is still fresh and beautifully balanced. The Moss Wood Cabernet was also excellent. Still vibrant, the Cabernet fruit is beautifully polished and runs seamlessly over the palate towards a velvety finish. No heaviness here. The RunRig is a different story, of course. This wine is big with a capital B. The first glass is the best - and it is quite exceptional. It is a rare skill to incorporate such ripe and alcoholic fruit into a drink which clearly tastes like wine, and not port. This is a uniquely sun-kissed, Australian wine. The E&E is not quite as big, but combines concentrated fruit with intense chocolate flavours - an attractive match.

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