Tag Archives: $300

Chateau d’Yquem 2010, Sauternes, France

11 Wednesday Nov 2020

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It’s not often I get to drink an iconic wine, but when friends have a bottle for a special occasion and I get to taste- it’s magic.

Rich gold in the glass.  The nose is stunning- honey, waxy tangerine, nutmeg and apricot.  On the palate it’s super rich with unctuous layers of peach, honey, almonds, apricots and honeysuckle. The mouthfeel is full bodied with palate filling sweetness, a hint of acidity and tons of nuances that keep me coming back for more. What an amazing wine that gets 95 points. Spectacular but young, drink till 2040. If you can find it in 750ml, it will run close to $300. Ours was a smaller 375 ml that gets it 5 stars. Salut….

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Clarendon Hills Astralis 2004

10 Monday Feb 2014

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A huge, monumental, iconic wine that scored massively with the pros and cost me an arm and leg. This weekend marks a huge turn in Moxie’s store and a good reason to celebrate, hence the need to pull out a $300+ bottle of wine from the depths of the cellar. To emphasize- RP 98, WE 98, WS 97, WC 97, AWC 95. Wow….

I have been in Asia for a few days and just returned this morning. Napping the morning away, I was ready for a hearty meal and some good vino. I decided on a Lamb tagine to go with this Aussie Syrah. Yup, Syrah…. They don’t call it a Shiraz, hmmmm.

I opened the bottle at 6:30 and made immediate notes:
The wine is nearly black in the glass and the first whiff was pure alcohol. I let it settle for few minutes and coaxed dark, brooding currants and a touch of the wood in addition to some cherry hints. On the palate I did not catch any of the 14.5% alcohol! Instead I got a complex mixture of black currants, plums, kirsch and oak. The mid palate adds a fine grained tannic streak along with some tobacco and spice nuances. The finish is where the alcohol shows up, unfortunately. The tannins are totally integrated at this point and do not dry out the end game.

It’s now three hours after opening and the wine has not evolved all that much, just softening up a bit on the initial attack. I doubt it will morph much more before I polish it off. The critics reckoned this wine would go until 2030. My impressions are below, and not quite in line.

Firstly, this is not my favorite Syrah nor is it my favorite wine from this producer. I disagree with the high ratings, I don’t think it warrants more than 92 points. For the price, it is a very dear wine and I’m only giving it 2 stars. Don’t get me wrong, this is a good wine- perhaps a great wine according to the pros but for me it’s just average for the price.  I was hoping for more depth, complexity and certainly more flavor.  My quest is to expand my palate and try as many highly rated wines as possible so I will be better able to discern a truly great wine.  This one just wasn’t it, a pity.  Salut….

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