Cellar

2005 Glaetzer Godolphin

Glaetzer Wines, The Barrosa, Australia

"The 2005 Godolphin, a blend of 80% Shiraz (from 85-year-old vines) and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon (from 60-year-old vines), was aged in 100% new oak, primarily 300-liter French hogsheads. It represents a beautiful marriage of power and elegance, displaying an inky/blue/purple color as well as notions of black raspberries, blueberries, graphite, and sweet pain grille. Ripe, pure, and medium to full-bodied with sweet but noticeable tannin, it can be drunk now or cellared for 12-15 years." 93/100 - Robert Parker

2002 Glaetzer Amon-Ra

Glaetzer Wines, The Barrosa, Australia

SOLD AS 6 BOTTLE ORIGINAL WINE CASE (equivalent to $150/bottle)

The flagship offering, the 2002 Shiraz, is produced from 90- to 100-year-old dry-farmed vineyards that yielded a microscopic .25-1 ton of fruit per acre. Aged 15 months in 100% new American oak barrels and hogsheads, its inky/purple color is accompanied by tantalizing aromas of charcoal, acacia flowers, blackberry liqueur, blueberries, and cassis. This deep, full-bodied, smoky, rich, full-throttle Shiraz is remarkably well-balanced as well as intense. Give it 1-3 more years of bottle age, and drink it over the following 10-15. 95/100 - Robert Parker

2004 Glaetzer Amon-Ra

Glaetzer Wines, The Barrosa, Australia

SOLD AS 6 BOTTLE ORIGINAL WINE CASE (equivalent to $150/bottle)

The finest of this trio is the flagship cuvee, the 2004 Shiraz produced from 80- to 150-year-old dry farmed vineyards in the northern Ebenezer sector of the Barossa. Aged 16 months in French oak and American hogsheads, this larger-than-life, fascinating wine (cropped at .25 to 1 ton of fruit per acre) offers big, sweet, blackberry and cassis characteristics intermixed with notions of smoke, licorice, and pain grille. A wine of amazing extract, richness, and full-bodied power, with great purity as well as balance, this stunning offering should age effortlessly for 15 or more years. Filled with personality, it is a tour de force in Barossa Shiraz. 94-96/100 - RP

2002 Greenock Creek Shiraz Creek Block

Greenock Creek, The Barrosa, Australia

The nearly perfect 2002 Shiraz Creek Block (from 54-year-old vines) possesses an inky/purple hue as well as a spectacularly intense bouquet of creme de cassis, blackberries, blueberries, charcoal, crushed rocks, and acacia flowers. Enormously endowed, concentrated, rich, pure, and layered, it is about as prodigious as South Australian Shiraz can be. The cool 2002 vintage has provided good delineation, crisp acidity, and sweet tannin. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2025+. If I had to select the number one Australian winery, it would be hard not to choose the Greenock Creek Winery, run by the humble, shy Michael and Annabelle Waugh. The quality that emerges from this estate is extraordinary. In short, these are thrilling, world-class wines that are about as compelling as wine can be. 96+/100 - RP

2004 Greenock Creek Shiraz Creek Block

Greenock Creek, The Barrosa, Australia

The 2004 Shiraz "Creek Block" is near otherworldly. It was sourced from a 66-year-old vineyard with yields of 1.0 tons per acre and aged for 28 months in used American oak. It delivers a super-fragrant nose of smoked meat, bacon, violets, an earthy/truffle element, blackberry, and blueberry muffin. This leads to a full-bodied, voluptuous wine with gobs of spicy, complex blue and black fruit flavors, great balance, and a finish that just won't quit. This loaded wine can be enjoyed now but will drink well for another 15-20 years. Greenock Creek Vineyard and Cellars, owned by Michael and Annabelle Waugh, is one of the Barossa's benchmark wineries. Start with a great terroir, add in old vine material, and meticulous winemaking and the results are usually extraordinary. 99/100 - RP

2005 Greenock Creek Shiraz Creek Block

Greenock Creek, The Barrosa, Australia

2002 Jim Barry Armagh Shiraz

Jim Barry Wines, Clare Valley, Australia

SOLD AS 6 BOTTLE ORIGINAL WINE CASE (equivalent to $300/bottle)

99/100 from Robert Parker ( very limited stock available- first in best dressed )."The inky purple- coloured 2002 boasts notes of scorched earth, chocolate, leather, blackberries and cassis. Its huge body, marvelous integration of acidity, tannin, and alcohol, and stunning finish of 60+ seconds are impressive. While accessible, it will be even better with 1-2 more years of bottle age, and should evolve for 12-15+ years." R.Parker

2004 Jim Barry Armagh Shiraz

SOLD AS 6 BOTTLE ORIGINAL WINE CASE (equivalent to $250/bottle)

One of the most colossal wines in all of my tastings was Jim Barry's 2004 Shiraz The Armagh, a 100% Shiraz aged 16 months in French and American oak. It is an opaque purple-hued, super-intense effort displaying great precision and richness. Notes of melted asphalt, acacia flowers, blueberries, blackberries, charcoal, and espresso roast emerge from this full, dense, opulent Shiraz. The finish lasts for over 45 seconds. This is a great example of one of the icons of Australian Shiraz. Anticipated maturity: now-2025. 98/100 - RP

1998 Chateau Haut Brion

Bordeaux, Bordeaux Region, France

SOLD AS 12 BOTTLE ORIGINAL WINE CASE. (equivalent to $650/bottle)

As reported over the last two years, this is a prodigious Haut-Brion. It exhibits a dense ruby/purple color in addition to a tight, but incredibly promising nose of smoke, earth, minerals, lead pencil, black currants, cherries, and spice. This full-bodied wine unfolds slowly, but convincingly on the palate, revealing a rich, multi-tiered, stunningly pure, symmetrical style with wonderful sweetness, ripe tannin, and a finish that lasts for nearly 45 seconds. It tastes like liquid nobility. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2035. 96/100 - RP

1996 Chateau Margaux

Bordeaux, Bordeaux Region, France

SOLD AS 12 BOTTLE ORIGINAL WINE CASE. (equivalent to $1300/bottle)

The 1996 Chateau Margaux, which was bottled in September, 1998, is undoubtedly one of the great classics produced under the Mentzelopoulos regime. In many respects, it is the quintessential Chateau Margaux, as well as the paradigm for this estate, combining measured power, extraordinary elegance, and admirable complexity. I tasted the wine on three separate occasions in January, and in short, it's a beauty! The color is opaque purple. The wine offers extraordinarily pure notes of blackberries, cassis, pain grille, and flowers, gorgeous sweetness, a seamless personality, and full body, with nothing out of place. The final blend (85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc) contains a high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. It tastes complete and long, although backward. My instincts suggest this wine will shut down, but at present it is open-knit, tasting like a recently bottled wine. The fruit is exceptionally sweet and pure, and there are layers of flavor in the mouth. I do believe this wine will develop an extraordinary perfume, and possess a high level of richness. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2040. 99/100 - RP