I opened this just after the Pagan. A bit unfair probably, but then again it's far from out of place alongside it's older brother. I'd like to think I can taste the same vineyard, albeit different years and styles, in these wines. I'll never be sure until someone tests me with an options game, though I'm usually sitting out early anyway.
I'm actually writing this on day 2, it's not so much that the wine needed to breathe a day, but I was sure it wasn't going to hurt it, and indeed the opposite is true.
Quintessential McVale Shiraz but with a fair bit of Koltz terroir for interest. Sexy nose, cacao powdery tannin, plummy rich fruit, black olives, shiitake, and a lick of ironstone all in one glass. The length is very good, and the balance rock solid. It could use a wee bit more time in the bottle for those tannins to soften a bit more, probably 2-3 years, but the why-wait generation will find it drinkable now, and the why-hurry crew will be rewarded in 10 years.
Like The Pagan and The Wizard these Koltz Shiraz are high on the genuine VFM chart. I could easily drink it by the case load.
Rated: Highly Recommended++ / 94
Value: *****
28/09/2015 There is a current The Pagan 2013 release special which includes this wine, those slow to find this page will have missed out.
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