Kay Bros 1998 Shiraz Oct 04

This was a bit of a surprise. The nose initially had a cardboard scent that could easily be confused with corked characters but after a little swirling it was obviously an oak character. Also unusual in a 98 McLaren Vale wine was the pepper character that was on the bouquet and palate. The palate also showed plum, eucalyptus, chocolate, aniseed and an almost bitter twang to the finish. It has excellent complexity and still showing a puppy fat (primary fruit) but that was offset by the drying tannins. The alcohol (14.8%) was obvious but it was by way of sweetness rather than heat and that sweetness complimented the off-sweet nature of the grape flavours.

Interesting wine and made me think about it. Not sure how long it will last as the tannins seem to be starting to dry the wine out but there is still fresh fruit there.

Copyright © Ric Einstein 2004