Ira Schwartz

9.3

A very complete nose of brioche, citrus and apple pie. In the mouth air is needed to really give this a chance to strut its stuff. Prominent but not overwhelming acid at first but an hour of air makes this as round as a beach ball. The palate starts to duplicate the nose with an hour or so of time. Another positive ‘08 champagne ,with upside from here. — 4 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

Quite a history to this wine. Back in 1997 Robert Parker gave the 1997 Duck Muck 99/100. A rare event at the time for an Australian wine and rapidly turned it into a Cult Wine par excellence. Almost overnight a bottle of Duck Muck was bringing $1500USD and higher. Unfortunately this led to many Australian winemakers wanting to duplicate this success and began creating these ultra ripe, high alcohol, very oaky Behemoths trying to attract Mega Scores from Parker. This was a trend that set back the Australian Wine exports by 10 to 15 years. We are only recovering now from the image of only producing Massive Shiraz and anyone who knows the Aussie wine industry knows we do much more than that. This wine at 16.5% ABV is not for the faint hearted. Rich Plum Prune and cinnamon notes. On the palate concentration and intensity is off the charts. You would never guess the age of this wine if tasted blind. It tastes much younger than a 2002. On a cold Winters night it’s great to reacquaint with a big Australian Shiraz. This is the whole Box and Dice - Shiraz on Steroids - but from this Burgundy Lover I can tell you it works. Time and a place for everything. — 5 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.0

The pleasure of this wine is much greater than it's technological evaluation or rating. You simply can't decant a wine any length of time in an effort to duplicate the evolution that takes place in a bottle over nearly 20 years. There's just no faking that. The softness, elegance or complexity. The fruits load ripe and juicy and transition into dry. The fruits are older; blackberries, black cherries, stewed plum, raspberries and pouched strawberries & pomegranate. The leather is soft as suede, graphite reduction, dry stems, dark, rich earth, & dry stones. The acidity is perfect as is the harmonic balance of fruit & earth. The tannins are nicely resolved along with the structure. The 98 is somewhere just passed it's peak moment. The finish is smooth and elegant but with the steak, the score jumps to a 9.2 as the blackberries & black cherries really pop with the steak. This is a recent purchase at K&L for the ridiculous price of $25. I would rather drink this than any Cabernet old or new world from 10.11,12,13 or 14. Pessac really out shined Bordeaux as a whole in 98. — 8 years ago

Mark Howard

9.7

So this is a a duplicate post because the app identified the incorrect wine. This is truly the Cask 23 version. The notes are correct. I believe Mr. Parker was mistaken. This is a wonderful bottle of wine. Dark fruits, leather, tobacco, smoke, and elegance. The finish lasts more than a minute. Great bottle of wine. — 4 years ago

with Richard

Jim McCusker

9.7

My original post didn’t seem to register, so my apologies if this ends up being a duplicate post. Awesome wine on a tough day for reasons some folks understand. — 6 years ago

with Vanessa

Greg Gregory

9.5

See note on the 2008. Duplicate with 3 less years on it. 😃 — 7 years ago

with Connor

ESF

9.2

I don’t usually rate duplicate wines, but this was so much better (and different) than 9 week ago, it merits a review. This is inky opaque and dense with dark fruit w/approachable tannins - as it unwinds there was distinct notes of espresso, tobacco and incense along w/coarse ground black pepper and vanilla. Really shining and magical stuff. QPR is off the charts, fell hard for this one! — 4 years ago

Ron R

9.4

AG nailed the notes for this wine, so I won’t duplicate. But on the nose and palate, I also detect kirsch liqueur, hints of licorice and anise. This wine has not moved since it was bottled. It presents with purity and power. Easily possesses another 20 years of runway ahead of it. Sheer ecstasy in a glass. My favorite Rhône producer. — 6 years ago

with Mo

Ira Schwartz

9.1

Almost an exact duplicate of my previous note in January with the difference being the mineral and spice notes were more prominent. — 7 years ago

Jano Silva

9.5

What dreams are made of. — 8 years ago