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| Tell me this doesn't inspire you to visit Paul at the winery ladies! |
This is a new release. Well, it was when I started this review. Yes, it's a 2010, and yes, that was nearly 6 years ago. Did it get lost on the way to the cellar door? Well, I'm sure there's a number of reasons but the main one is that it's now ready.
Paul was previously a fan of the way cork ages his wines, but he was not a fan of the associated problems with taint, random oxidation and their general unreliability. His eventual solution was to leave the wine to age in barrel much longer, which is an economically risky and difficult plan. It's something the big wineries simply cannot even contemplate, since whilst it results in a more developed wine it's costly to store wine and in the meantime you're not getting paid for it. However, for us consumers it means we get a wine far more developed than usual, and in the case of blended wines they can be more perfectly balanced.
This is predominantly Shiraz at 85%, with about 10% Grenache and 5% Mataro blended in for that better balance. Tasting it, I suspect most people would not pick it as anything but Shiraz. Full bodied, savoury and plush, with more complexity and sexiness than the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders explaining quantum mechanics. It's only real fault is it comes in a measly 750ml bottle, when clearly a magnum is the minimum required.
It doesn't need aging, but will reward it, and give it some air before drinking in the short term.
Rated: I love it / 96++ / Excellent
VFM *****
