Saturday, June 28, 2014

Dalwhinnie Shiraz

Dalwhinnie Shiraz is one of the few wines I buy every vintage of. I drink them at about eight years of age, when primary and secondary characteristics blend together. Yesterday I opened the 2005 Dalwhinnie Shiraz. I was slightly worried because of the drought conditions in that year.

And sure, some of the typical characteristics were there: the blackberry and mulberry flavours and the silky tannins. This is the impact of the special terroir. But the drought is very noticable as well. The fruit is very ripe and tastes somewhat dead rather than fresh and vibrant. The wine is not totally balanced. The earthy and meaty flavours include some sharpness. I still think this is a good wine, but not a great one.

Score: 91/0

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