2002 Meshach

Very deep garnet-purple colored with a touch of brick, 2002 Meshach still appears youthful on the nose with notes of blackberry and blueberry preserves plus underlying earth, licorice, game and Indian spice notes. Very crisp and taut on the full bodied palate, it has firm fine tannins, great flavor concentration and a long finish with some coffee and licorice notes coming through. It’s good to drink now, though it has a long life ahead and should cellar to 2023+. Tasting three vintages of Grant Burge’s flagship wine, Meshach, with him in Autumn 2011, he told me a bit more about the background of the wine. It’s named after his grandfather: “I was looking for a name that had something to do with longevity. My grandfather lived for 99 years and 9 months.” The wine has always been made entirely from old vine Barossa Shiraz, predominately coming from the Filsell vineyard planted in the 1920s. “When we started first making the wine in 1988 it was a 100% American oak. But then we thought the oak was too sweet. Since 1998 we use 20% French oak and 80% American. We made the change in 1998. The current vintage, 2006 Meshach, was released in March 2011. Importer: Wilson Daniels Ltd., St. Helena, CA; www.wilsondaniels.com