Clear med garnet significantly bricking.  That unmistakable balmy briar toasted almond nuance indicating things have headed South.  A sharp piquantness of VA telling me what I knew all along about these 99’s and thank Dog this is my last one.  I absolutely fell in LOVE with the 98 The Barossa.  I tried a 99 at the time and felt it a far inferior wine.  10 years passed and ran into a few more 99’s at a shop and bought a couple.  Remember, these are 18 dollar wines.  Yeah, this thing has seen its better days.  It is still bright and densely fruited in the nose, but showing flaws border-lining on undrinkable.  In the mouth, a bright carry-over of the obtuse nail-polish, sharp and biting.  Rather than settling down into subdued aged beauty, this thing absolutely TURNED into a hot, harsh demon:  Thin and bitter, with intense heat.  14-0  ◊