2007 Schild Estate Shiraz Barossa Valley (Australia)
Polished and generous, offering a racy mouthful of tobacco-accented cherry and black currant fruit that finishes with an edge of dried sage, licorice and fresh cream. This lingers impressively, showing amazing depth. Rated 92 Wine Spectator
2000 Longwood Shiraz McLaren Vale (Australia)
I preferred the 2000 Shiraz to the 1999 (atypical for these two vintages in McLaren Vale) as it boasts a deep ruby/purple color as well as accessible, sweet licorice and blackberry/currant-scented bouquet and flavors, full body, low acidity, and a plump, up-front style.Rated 90 Wine Spectator
2003 The Colonial Estate Shiraz l’explorateur Barossa Valley (Australia)
The 2003 Shiraz l’Explorateur (5,000 cases produced) exhibits a dense ruby/purple color along with a big, rich bouquet of melted licorice, blackberry liqueur, pepper, and a hint of road tar. Ripe, full-bodied, supple-textured, and long, it should drink well for 5-10 years. Kudos to proprietor Jonathan Malthus for his work in the Barossa. Rated 91 The Wine Advocate
2004 Mitolo GAM Shiraz McLaren Vale (Australia)
Aged 18 months in primarily French oak, the 2004 Shiraz G.A.M. is an exceptional example of a precise yet full-flavored, concentrated Shiraz. Its gorgeous perfume of blueberries, blackberries, camphor, licorice, and pain grille is followed by an inky/blue/purple-colored wine offering superb purity, full-bodied richness, and gorgeous depth as well as texture. This fabulous effort is another example of Ben Glaetzer’s brilliant talents. It should drink well for 15 years. For a winery only established in 1999, and dedicated to hand-crafted, artisanal wines, Mitolo has consistently been a revelation in my tastings. Thanks to owner Frank Mitolo and his brilliant winemaker, Ben Glaetzer, the quality has been truly splendid.Rated 97 The Wine Advocate
2003 Branson Coach House Shiraz Barossa Valley Greenock Block Estate (Australia)
The fabulous, inky/purple-hued 2003 Shiraz Coach House only carries 14.5% alcohol (in the land of 15% full-throttle Shiraz). It offers a huge nose of blackberry and cassis liqueur, plums, figs, barbecue smoke, and lead pencil shavings. A wine of great intensity, enormous concentration, moderately high tannin, and a blockbuster finish, it needs 2-3 more years of bottle age, and it should last for 10-20+ years. This is an impressive successor to Branson Coach House’s equally exciting 2002. Rated 98 The Wine Advocate
2001 Kay Brothers Hillside Shiraz Amery Vineyards McLaren Vale (Australia)
The opaque purple-colored 2001 Shiraz Amery Vineyard Hillside (1,000 cases) possesses low acidity as well as extraordinary dense, chewy notes of blackberries, blueberries, melted licorice, creosote, smoke, and earth. Although it is not yet revealing many nuances, it is spectacularly concentrated, with fabulous flavor extraction, and a finish that lasts for nearly a minute. Rated 93-95 The Wine Advocate