80 points
Evergreen Vineyard, Columbia Valley, Washington. 12.5%
Great label.
Pale colour. Dilute nose. Just a touch of sweetness. Good sweetness acid balance. Lacks flavour and character.
91 points
Barossa Valley, South Australia. 13.5%
An unusual wine which I enjoyed. The oak aroma is rather unique, this wine would stump me in a blind tasting (smelling). It doesn’t seem to be French or American oak, whatever it actually is it isn’t sweet or over-the-top just different.
The palate is ripe and flavoursome with a touch of fruit sweetness on the forefront. It’s quite elegant with well restrained alcohol and excellent balancing acidity (not forced).
This is a non-showy Barossa Shiraz, low octane. Beautifully ripe without syrupy extract and alcohol. Bravo.
80 points
Golan Heights, Israel. 14%
Oh dear, I kept this too long. Rich sweet fruit up front but the wine is starting to fall apart. Commercial style.
85 points
Clare Valley, South Australia. 13.5%
A premium label from Knappstein (no longer owned by Tim Knappstein, but rather a very big wine company). First released in 1977.
Smells of asparagus but tastes better. Very sweet fruit (not sugar) and tart. Simple despite its age.
90 points
Clare Valley, South Australia. 14.5%
A fairly full-on ripe mint chocolate Cabernet. Heavily oaked. Delicious aromas.
This isn’t the sort of Cabernet I normally seek out but age has added complexity to it. It’s an interesting change from more subtle wines. Breathe it well and enjoy.
90 points
Loire. 12.5%
More lucious than sweet. Almost spirit like concentration yet still graceful. Showing some fragility, more than I expected so drink now.
Very good but slightly less exciting and fine than expected.
