WineLovers Discussion Group

1999 Clarendon Hills Shiraz, Piggot Range Vineyard

14.5% alcohol
Very dark ruby, no bricking. Nose of dark fruits. On the palate, dark fruits, some leather, some eucalyptus, some spices and some sandalwood in the finish. Moderate acidity. Tannins largely gone but the middle palate still tastes of the tannins even though there is no pucker on the tongue or lips. Nicely balanced wine with a decently long finish of primarily dark fruits. Interestingly, the fruit flavors seem to shift from red fruits on the initial taste to darker flavors in the mouth. Alcohol level not really noticeable. Overall, a very, very good wine bordering on excellent. Not quite enough punch or volume or complexity to be excellent.

Regards,

Robert

Is Clarendon Hills dimming on radar screens?

About 10 years ago Parker was praising it to the skies and its various Shiraz, Grenache and Cab cuvées were on offer at an importer here from between €50 and 100/bottle with Astralis costing much more; I tasted some and remember massive youngsters. The same merchant is now offering a range from vintages of the late 90s at prices down to the €45-75 range and nothing from more recent vintages; this hardly suggests that there have been a lot of repeat orders for these wines.

Robert, you rate this bottle as very very good but, apart from curiosity, this doesn't incite me to go out and buy, even at the present "discounted" prices.