Friday, July 24, 2009

Arranmore 2005 Shiraz Last Row

Unlike many wine reviewers, I try not to post about wines that you cannot purchase because
  • the winery is sooo small you have to visit it to get wines
  • the production is soo small ... it is not clear if there is any left after the wine maker gets his/her allocation there is any left
  • the vintages is long past so nobody, not even the winery has it any more
And yet, this is one of those wines. We got it on our trip to Australia on a wine tasting tour. It's a small operation run by an "old guy" who makes wine in his garage in the Clare Valley. He let me press some of the grapes and I felt obliged to buy a wine of his... the 2005 Shiraz Last Row, which was the best tasting wine he had of his four or five available for tasting.

It's been 2+ years, since I bought it, and it was time to open it. My wife said she wasn't in the mood to "scale such a monumental red". Ironic, as I thought it was a rather small wine, almost reminiscent of a Pinot (Noir) on first opening.

The wine was very interesting. It was flavorful and had a richness in a light body... much like the best Burgundies (or so I'm told).

As the evening wore on, the wine got bigger. More subdued rich dark fruit with some earthy spice in a small frame, with a richness nonetheless. Not tannic but a touch of acidity. The combo made a nice food wine and also a nice solo wine. Quite nice. My score: 90.

Just don't try to find a bottle.

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