John Duval Wines Plexus 2005 Barossa; 33,80€; 14,5% abv; 6,1g/l acidity; Shiraz, Grenache, Mourvédre (sic!); 17% new French oak.
Purplosity, tar, mulberry jam - seems stereotypical Barossa! Yet there is also a scent that is reminiscent of Southern Rhones - physalis peruviana and some garrigue, a little meaty - except the whole seems rather amplified. Extremely full bodied, massive and insert a few more superlatives here and you get the picture. But it does have pretty decent acidity that carries the fruit. The tannins are so soft as to be non-existent. I don't enjoy the stereotypical "bruiser" style of Barossa, but I must admit that if one likes that style, I imagine this would be a rather impressive wine as it has all of that bigness yet the natures of the grapes of the blend come through and the alcohol, though very high on the label, isn't offensive.
We have been receiving a several moderately priced (by Finnish standards - these are probably cheaper everywhere else) 2005s and 2006s. I bought a curious wine I had never heard of before: Château Tour Peyronneau 2005 St.-Emilion Grand Cru; 13,5%; 19,57€.
What makes this curious is that it is listed as 100% Merlot - I don't remember seeing another St.-Emilion as a varietal Merlot, but I suppose there must be some others, too. Also curious was that I didn't find a reference to this property in Peppercorn or Johnson's pocket book. But the wine was rather attractive! Before realising it was a St.-Emilion, I blurted out to my dinner companions that it showed much pure Pomerol character despite some oak that needs to integrate.
But even now with the label before me I still agree: it is fleshy, plummy, loamy with dark and sweet fruit. Full bodied and sweetly fruity palate, fleshy, soft but with and undercurrent of tannins that keep the boisterous fruit in check despite the low acidity. Despite the wine's fruit forward nature, it is refreshing. A very nice surprise especially because it is drinking so well in this youthful stage. I guess it will soon shut down - it seems to have the elements required to age some time.