I’ve had this one in my cellar since March 2007 and have pulled a few out earlier and been impressed with how well it is aging. When young it required a good hours worth of breathing to take away some harsh acidity notes on the finish. Inky dark in color with a lovely rich nose of black berries. On the mid pallet this lives up to the nose and has a lovely rich blueberry flavor. Not sweet, but slightly jammy. On the finish right out of the bottle there still is some of the firm acidity that was present when it was young but way died down. And this passed quickly. There’s some nice tannins as well on the medium finish. The pepper on the finish had also mostly died down, common for a shiraz as it ages. This wine has kept very well. Sadly this was my last one. We paired it with a striploin and it held up beautifully complimenting the food. I have to say this is a fine example of an excellent Aussie style shiraz! I would give this a solid 91 and it was well worth the wait! I originally paid $27.95. Sadly not currently available in the LCBO. One of the reasons I like keeping a cellar …
From the LCBO web site at the time of purchase (good notes are very valueable in managing a cellar!):
BALGOWNIE ESTATE SHIRAZ 2003 Bendigo, Victoria This wine also received 90 points from Robert Parker Jr. (www.erobertparker.com, Oct. 2005). Tasting Note: Bright ruby. Smoked meat, bacon fat, mulberry, dried violet, dark cherry and roasted coffee aromas. Serious, structured wine, with juicy flavors of bitter cherry, sweet tobacco and licorice. Smoky, vibrant and intense on the finish, which displays dense, powerful, dusty tannins. Score – 90(+?). (Josh Raynolds, International Wine Cellar, July/Aug 2005) 024646 (D) 750 mL $27.95 Wine Spectator (US) Issue: 94 pts “The wine is a deep red/purple color and offers blackberry, licorice and spice on the nose with a hint of eucalypt and pepper. The palate is full bodied with sweet blackberry and spice flavors with fine lingering tannins. A wine which shows both structure and excellent ageing potential. $30US.” Featured 3/17/2007.
