Pitch black garnet, light sediment. Black cherry nose, ripe and full-fruited, baked white sheet-cake iced with smoky briar: a green streak so refreshing in these wines, stopping just shy of eucalyptus. Rosy and spice-ridden, the warm hug of tertiary dustiness like a worn boot, comfortable and inviting. Cola and fresh clean straw doing their part to administer earth and barnyard.
I could smell this wine all day, but I pretty much came here to drink it. Thick and delicious on entry, berry and blood-orange a grainy stew so cool and ethereal in application it defies the sensation of clogging the gaps in your teeth. Pristinely balanced, not a speck of raisin, not a drop too much acid, no overt signs of fatigue ANYWHERE on it: just a sensational wine in the mouth. I’d love to say it is at peak, but I honestly don’t think it is. The balance is so perfect–just SEAMLESS–there’s literally not a single flag of tiredness. I’m not going to say the fruit is young and vibrant–that phrase gets whored out FAR too often–I will just say EVERYTHING is polishing perfectly together down this wine’s trail to demise: and death seems easily another decade off in the future. I worry this is my last 04, so if you have these please do not be in a rush. Sweet and dense far into the finish, tannin smoothed to a satin finish and still viable.
Ridiculously gorgeous Syrah at 16. An interesting juxtaposition to last night’s 14 year-old.
2004 PENFOLD’S Bin 28 Shiraz Kalimna Australia 14.5
Stephen McConnell 