2001 Shiraz Black Guts

The estate’s prodigious flagship offering is the 2001 Shiraz Black Guts. Made from 35- to 40-year-old vines, and aged 30 months in a combination of new and old French oak and a bit of new American wood, it boasts a blue/black color as well as a fabulous bouquet of smoke, creosote, Asian spices, white flowers, and blackberry liqueur. Dense, full-bodied, and voluptuous, with fabulous precision, good acidity, magnificent concentration, and a fabulous finish, this is the kind of wine that only a handful of South Australia vineyards can consistently achieve. There is virtually nothing like it produced anywhere else in the world. It should drink well for 15+ years. Importer: Dan Philips, The Grateful Palate, Oxnard, CA; tel. (888) 472-5283

(aged for 30 months in American oak) Ruby-red. Aromas of roasted meat and oak, with a lurking note of asparagus. Supersweet, thick and concentrated, with gamey, truffley flavors showing a distinct asparagus vegetility. Impressively long and quite oaky on the back. An extreme style of shiraz : I find this style of shiraz more tiring to drink than the less expensive bottlings from this producer. (The Grateful Palate, Oxnard CA