Bob McDonald

9.2

Brief notes. Another excellent example of Pinot Noir from the Applejack vineyard. Red fruited with strawberry and cherry. Definitely more fruit driven than the Wombat Creek which has more whole bunch in the ferment. The differences are more in wine making technique than in terroir I feel. Sexton possibly a bit of each. — 12 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

Could not see that I have rated this vintage on Delectable before. No formal notes. I recall it being fuller and more textural than usual with a certain creaminess. A good blend of citrus and stone fruit with the right amount of French oak. — 2 years ago

Thy Guiley

8.9

Giant fruit paired pucker dry that goes well with nice hardy tomato meat sauce — 3 years ago

with Keelan

Big Wave Dave

9.2

Very good p/q. Reminds me of Giant Steps Applejack/Sexton. Clean red fruit, lavender, with a deeper spice note. There is Gibbston/Otago deep spice, then you get pure red strawberry. No discernible tannin, and acid is subdued, but at this pricepoint this is a buy. — 3 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.3

Brief Notes. More full bodied showing luscious stone fruit notes than you normally get from this Cuvée. Full bodied and ripe - medium minus acid. Delicious and mouth filling - you can’t help but love this wine. — 16 days ago

Jay Kline

9.3

Presented double-blind. The wine appears deep garnet with an opaque core. There appears to be a slight amount of sediment but otherwise no visual signs of age. On the nose, a beguiling mix of black, blue and red fruits with a pronounced hit of tobacco, green bell pepper, purple flowers, earth and baking space. On the palate, the wine is dry with very firm tannin that I would place in the medium++ category. Medium+ acid. The fruit set is confirmed along with the aforementioned non-fruit characteristics with some leather and earth for good measure. The finish very long and rich. While there is an undeniable amount of high quality fruit, I felt the non-fruit characteristics and the structure leaned more towards the old world. I called 2008 Paulliac from a classified growth. I didn’t even think about Australia! Anyway, this was awesome and came across almost youthful! I’ve long admired Roman’s work with Syrah…and now I know I’ve been sleeping on his Cabernet. This wine will continue to drink well for another decade+. — 2 years ago

David Nicewicz

9.3

This was stubbornly closed and unyielding. I think a lot of 2000 BDX are in the same “quiet” spot right now. The normal Palmer bouquet was very muted here that was far more pronounced in the 2004 I opened a few weeks ago. I think this is a sleeping giant though as there is a dense velvety tannin structure that sits heavy on the tongue. I’m holding off opening the the rest of my bottles for a few more years. I think this has 9.7+ potential... — 3 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

Delectable - this is the Nocton Vineyard - not available in your database. From the Coal River valley in Tasmania. Lovely aromatics of black cherry and spice. Giant Steps is based in the Yarra Valley and is owned these days by the Jackson Family from the USA. Gorgeous fruit from the terroir of the Coal River, a renowned district for Pinot Noir. An incredible show record of 3 Trophies from the 2019 Royal Queensland Wine Show. Best Pinot Noir, Best Red Table Wine and Champion Wine of the Show. At this year’s RQ Wine Show Giant Steps repeated the Trophy feat with their 2022 Sexton Vineyard (Yarra Valley) Pinot Noir winning the same Trophies. The same award winning wine making team except for Steve Flamsteed who is now a consultant to the Jackson team. Amazing power on the palate of the Nocton - Asian spices, somewhat voluptuous finishing with silky tannins. — 10 months ago

Peggy Hadley

9.4

Stagecoach vineyard and Sleeping Lady Vineyard with Cab Franc. Great dark fruit. Great year. — 3 years ago

with Jim

Mark Farrell

9.9

Dark ruby color with a nose of blackberries, cassis, potpourri, a touch of strawberries, leather, vanilla, and an interesting sea air freshness. Full-bodied wine with amazing fruit. The tannins are definitely there, but not so overwhelming as to close the wine and kill the fruit. Finish is long and pleasant at over a minute. This is my type of wine! Celebrating my 20th wedding anniversary with this. Couldn’t have made a better choice. — 3 years ago