Bob McDonald

9.3

Graciano is mainly planted in Rioja and Navarro in Spain. This wine from the warm Geographe region of Western Australia. Interestingly known as Xeres in California - the latter fact from the Oxford Companion to Wine. This wine was deep crimson with a cherry rim. Aromatic primary aromas of cherry and earth. A medium bodied palate showing red cherry and earth - very food friendly. Oak plays a supporting role - the wine spending 12 months in old French Oak. Was a very good accompaniment to Pasta. Rare to find an Australian grown 100% Graciano and on the strength of this we should be growing more. — 19 hours ago

Joe Roth

9.4

Wow! 15 years old. Still a beautiful wine — 3 days ago

with Jeff and Michael

Bob McDonald

9.2

Very dark ruby in colour. Aromas of mocha oak, raspberry and liquorice. Rich and plush textures on the full bodied palate. Ripe and generous - plum cake notes. An absolute crowd pleaser. Probably my favourite of the Mollydooker Cuvées. Carnival of Love and the Velvet Glove particularly are too concentrated for my palate. — 7 days ago

David Walser

9.1

At Total Wine picking up some every day drinking wines that I’ve never had or haven’t had in quite awhile. I decided to grab a bottle of this Max for $17+. I saw this when in Australia last year and thought is must not have been a very good wine as it seems that the price in Australian $ was below $10. Brought a bottle back but haven’t tried it yet. This was a surprise find. Enjoyed with chicken pasta. — 11 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

My last Little Wine IV. A blend of vintages 2012 2013 and 2014. Ripe plums with a hint of prune - fruit cake aromas. Obviously the product of old vines - entirely from the Hoffman Vineyard apparently. Lush and fluid textures on the palate. Amazing quality for the price. — 13 days ago

Clive McNish

9.0

Very nice GSM blend. Rich and dark in the glass, needs a little air and then plenty of classic Shiraz flavours with great fruit influence from the Grenache and smokey dark notes from the Mataro. Some smooth tannins make this approachable but it is a bold and powerful wine. Penfolds rarely disappoint but some of the bins are overpriced in my opinion. This one seems about right in terms of QPR. — 18 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

Mid to Deep Crimson in colour. Aromas of menthol, tobacco and ash notes together with black tea and after an hour in the decanter- violets. Not often one has a Cabernet Franc of this quality made in Australia. Made at The Islander on Kangaroo Island which is owned by Jacques Lurton and family, owner of Chateau Cheval Blanc so they know a bit about Cab Franc!! Jancis Robinson describes Cheval Blanc as “the world’s grandest Cabernet Franc dominated wine” Visited The Islander there 4 years ago and had a tour with the Canadian winemaker. A semi-maritime climate - very dry so that a limited need for pesticides. In summary a very polished wine and the best Cab Franc I’ve had outside the Right Bank or Loire Valley. — 12 days ago

Shay A

9.3

My bottle of choice for the WNH virtual tasting (@David L , @Shawn R , @Eric LaMasters , @Joe Lucca , @Mike R , @Bill Bender , @Carl Fischer ) with a theme of 10yrs or older.

A beautiful bottle of aged Shiraz from a lovely producer. Double decanted in the event there was sediment but there was hardly any (cork was pristine as well). Where some Aussie Shiraz can come across boozy and out of sync, this is a great restrained example. Followed over a few hours and the aromatics didn’t change much...mostly raspberry fig, baking spices, tobacco and smoked meats accompanied by a touch of age. The palate was a reality check...totally youthful. Vibrant and juicy. Tart strawberries, rhubarb and black cherries. Fleshy. Gained some weight as it opened showing liqueur, boysenberries, licorice and overripe mixed dark fruits. Beautiful example of aged Aussie Shiraz. Not getting any better, but not falling off a cliff any time soon. Kudos to the man, myth and legend, Bill B. — 3 days ago

B

10

1998 Penfolds Grange. Dinner during Quarantine. Decanted for ~30 mins before serving with roast chicken. Some early dark fruit (blackberry), lots of mid-palate spice notes, and receding tannins. Fully mature and debating whether this will continue to get better. Prob peaking about now. Great! — 6 days ago

Trevor Maskell

9.4

25 years and holding very strong. Amarone style and kicking alcohol for its day. Still rich and balanced. Dried fruit, earth and oily engine aromas. Great tannins from the Cab. Length, depth and structure is fantastic. Scary how much age this still has. — 3 days ago