Price: $59.99	QTY:
Dalwhinnie Moonambel Shiraz 2008 A huge return to form for Dalwhinnie. Beautifully ripe and vibrant, with layers of deliciously spicy fruit finely integrated with oak and tannin. Deep, ripe aromas of dark berry/plum fruit are backed by musky spices and fresh cedary, gamey notes. Long, smooth and succulent, with a seamless presence of juicy dark cherry/plum flavour tightly knit with vanilla oak, it finishes with persistent meaty undertones and a fine, lingering grip of dusty, astringent tannins. (Pyrenees, $70 retail, approx., 18.7/95, drink 2016-2020+) Jeremy Oliver Attractive colour; the bouquet has a seductive offering of black fruits, dark spices and minerals; the palate is loaded with sweet fruits, with redcurrant providing light to the blackberry shade; the texture is engaging, with plentiful fine-grained tannins, and a lingering mineral complexity to the finish. Screwcap. 13.5% alc. Rating 95 Points; Drink 2025 $60 Date Tasted Feb 10 James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2011 The recent vintages of Shirazes coming off this estate are seriously worth finding. Beginning with the very deep garnet-purple colored 2008 Moonambel Shiraz, there’s a moderate, muted intensity of ripe blackberry and blueberry aromas with a dash of anise and black pepper leading into savory game, marmite and toasted nut notes. The medium to full-bodied palate has crisp acid and a medium-high level of very fine tannins. This wine is tightly knit with that elusive combination of concentration and elegance, finishing long. Delicious now, give this wine another year or so to really open, and drink to 2020. Score: 94. Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW; Robert Parkers The Wine Advocate, June 2010. Colour: Extraordinary colour; purple-red and bright Bouquet: Very rich – smelling of ripe mulberries, amazing savouriness already with the intriguing Christmas pudding spices. The oak is beautifully integrated and well in the background. Palate: Vibrant nervy dark berry fruits explode on the palate suggesting serious concentrated power, yet the weight of the wine is elegant, displaying the Dalwhinnie hallmark black olive character. The fruit, oak and acid are in perfect harmony. All these elements just need time to mature. Winemaker’s comments: The 28th vintage of this icon wine, and in my opinion the best Dalwhinnie Shiraz to date. The structure and complexity of the wine is very impressive and has the taste and nose of a Grand Cru Hermitage. What is particularly appealing is the freshness of the wine, you can actually enjoy it now or keep for a good 8 years. It is earthy, funky and seriously delicious. David and Jenny Jones have acquired full ownership of Dalwhinnie from Ewan Jones, and have three children of their own to ensure the future succession. In the meantime, Dalwhinnie goes from strength to strength, making outstanding wines right across the board. The wines all show tremendous depth of fruit flavour, reflecting the relatively low-yielding but very well-maintained vineyards. It is hard to say whether the Chardonnay or the Shiraz is the more distinguished, the Pinot Noir (made with assistance from Rick Kinzbrunner) a startling arrival from out of nowhere. A further 8 hectares of shiraz (with a little viognier) were planted in the spring of 1999 on a newly acquired block on Taltarni Road, permitting the further development of export markets already established in the UK, Asia, Germany and the US. James Halliday   An exceptionally concentrated and powerful wine, fully reflecting the low yields and the influence of the quartz, clay and gravel soils. These are not wines for the faint-hearted, positively demanding long cellaring but having the balance to repay patience. James Halliday The vineyards are set in a natural amphitheatre accentuated by contour-planted vines. Planted at an altitude of between 360- 595 metres, it works on a philosophy of low input and low yields. There is now a contemporary tilt-slab 50 tonne winery designed by David Jones architect father Ewan Jones. A new 300 tonne capacity winery is in the pipeline as Dalwhinnie brings the entire winemaking process back to Moonambel. The Shiraz has great purity of fruit, with sweet, cracked pepper and blackberry aromas, a fleshy palate with concentrated anise, blackberry and pepper fruit, underlying oak and sublime power. Andrew Calliard MWColour: Deep red-purple, bright and concentrated.