2010 Domaine Vindemio Imagine Cotes du Ventoux (France)
“An absolutely outrageous value and a great wine in its own right, the equal part blend of Syrah and Grenache, the 2010 Vindemio Imagine, is also aged completely in concrete casks, This is an amazing wine, displaying notes of meat juices, spring flowers, black raspberries, blackberries and cassis. Full-bodied, unctuously textured, rich and full, but with remarkable purity and freshness, this is a terrific effort from proprietor Jean Marot. Drink it over the next 5-7 years, although it could actually last a lot longer.” Rated 95 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate
1999 Triacca La Gatta Riserva Valtellina (Italy)
For our Riserva, only the ripest grapes from the best sites are selected and carefully vinified. On the whole these are harvested later than the rest of the estate’s grapes. The long-matured Riserva has a complex, spicy nose with wonderful, leathery overtones. The wine is round and full-bodied on the palate.
The Riserva matures for several years in these large casks. The expert chooses whether to mature the wines in the cask, or whether to favour bottle ageing. For Riserva wines, the law prescribes lengthy cask-ageing. In the Valtellina this is set at three years. During this period the aromas undergo a subtle transformation. Acidity and tannins are reduced and united in exquisite harmony. A harmonious, beautifully balanced wine, powerfully built but nevertheless with great finesse. triacca.com
2001 Kaesler Old Bastard Shiraz Barossa Valley (Australia)
96 points, Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate, August, 2003
Racheting up the level of concentration, intensity, flamboyance as well as structure is the 2001 Shiraz Old Bastard. Although expensive, it is produced from 110-year old vines, and represents one of the great classics from Barossa. When compared to the price of a wine such as Penfolds Grange, it is a reasonably good bargain. The inky purple color is accompanied by gorgeous aromas of smoke, camphor, melted licorice, blackberries, cherries, and flowers. Dense, rich, and full-bodied with the wood well-concealed beneath spectacular concentration and extract, there is not a hard edge to be found in this old vine Barossa Shiraz. Anticipated maturity: 2005–2018.
92 points, Wine Enthusiast, February 2004
Gets 100% new French oak for two years, and it shows. This is a big wine, with jammy berry and plum fruit that’s doused in toasty, smoky flavors. Similar caramel-vanilla notes ring true on the nose. Finishes in a crescendo of caramel, and black plum and berry flavors. Excellent, to be sure, but also just massive. Don’t try to drink this with anything other than a date and a bearskin rug-it’s just not going to go with dinner.
96 points, Wine Spectator, April 27, 2004
A big but remarkably elegant wine, focusing its pure blueberry, blackberry and plum flavors on a laser beam of finely balanced tannins and judicious acidity, persisting on the finish with glints of white pepper, licorice and coffee. Serious stuff that begs for cellar time. Best from 2010 to 2025.
92 points, Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 2004
Saturated deep ruby to the rim. Flamboyantly ripe aromas of blackberry liqueur, chocolate and eucalyptus. Rich, pliant and thick, with brooding flavors of blackberry, blueberry, chocolate and mocha. Offers superb palate presence. A very fat wine that finishes surprisingly bright, with huge but suave tannins and a note of raspberry
1991 Penfolds Grange South Australia
“This wine is generous, open, and sweet in its personality. Dense purple, this blend of 95% Shiraz and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon shows great fruit, a very lush, open-knit style with full body, high glycerin, low acidity, and superb purity. It is a very jammy, voluptuous wine, dominated by its creme de cassis fruit intermixed with tar and licorice. Anticipated maturity: now-2017.” Rated 93 The Wine Advocate (Feb 2002)
Rich, chewy, spicy and full of currant and blackberry character, this is distinctive for the harmony that’s beneath the hedonistic fanfare of flavors. A stunning wine with all the Grange characteristics. Try from 2005 to 2015. Wine Spectator Score: 95