A few days ago, I was given a 2009 Wild Duck Creek Shiraz Reserve. It came with a warning: 17% alcohol. Wild Duck Creek used to be one of the Australian Parker cult producers. How did this wine hold up after 14 years? I was concerned.
The colour was a deep purple-brown - not a good sign. I could smell the alcohol.
On the palate, the wine was overripe, tasting of raisin and alcohol. I was inclined to say this wine was past its best, but did it ever have a best? It was hard to drink one glass.
So here we have a producer who liked to make ripe wine, in a drought year, and an attempt to enjoy this wine after 14 years. This could not work. It was a stark reminder how crazy some Shiraz got in the 90s and 00s. It was so misguided.
Score: 70/---
1 comment:
Tried their 2020 shiraz pressings last night funnily enough. Bit dialled down vs your 09 on alcohol but still hefty at 15.2%. I'm not sure if I'd be brave enough to cellar it that long either as with these styles isn't the fruit doomed to drop out and the alcohol dominate?
Good to flag that era though. Will note newer winemaker there seems to be making a few fresher styles especially in his whites/entry-level blend.
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