2003 Shiraz Reserve Padthaway

The 2003 Shiraz Reserve, which I assume is made from the richest barrels, has all the same characteristics of the regular bottling, with more weight, opulence, and persistence. The 16% alcohol is beautifully concealed by its prodigious concentration. Readers who love the extroverted personalities of these wild and crazy Australian reds should drink it over the next 10-12 years. Full-throttle Shiraz are fashioned from vineyards owned by the Longbottom family. This is an unabashed, flamboyant, Aussie wine that is loaded with fruit, fragrance, glycerin, and intensity. This is the type of wine that Eurocentric wine tasters and condescending elitists tend to dismiss, but it is a fascinating effort the likes of which are made nowhere else in the world. There is certainly no shortage of flavor, and if you like your wines exuberant, flamboyant, and over-sized, this wine fills the tab, and then some. Importer: Dan Philips, The Grateful Palate, Oxnard, CA; tel. (888) 472-5283