Once in a while I like to swim a little further upstream and explore some higher priced wines like this one that clocked in at $45.99 at my Costco. I wanted something outside of Cabernet from Napa or Bordeaux, and was hoping to find a different varietal from somewhere else in the world of wine.
So a Barossa Valley Shiraz was a natural pick. I've tasted this wine once before, several vintages ago and I can't remember exactly which one, but I remember being impressed.
I also remember this wine being a lot more than $46, and a quick Google search will confirm that this is indeed a killer price. This bottle goes for $70 on Wine.com.
One other thing you'll notice when Googling this wine is that it typically scores huge point ratings from the critics, pretty consistently in the 93-94 point range. I take these with a grain of salt, but given the consistency year to year, and reviewer to reviewer, I'd say it's a good sign, especially combined with my positive past experiences with the wine.
So, let's dig in. The wine is not super dark on the pour; you can see through around the edges; started a little tight out of the bottle, but some decant time brought it to life. It's drinking nice now but would benefit from a few more years in the bottle.
The wine has a beautiful nose, distinctive and pleasant; spicy with forest scents. Excellent mouth feel, with more spice and peppercorn; flavors of dark cherry, blackberry, and anise; leather notes towards the finish which is dry and absolutely insane how long it lasts.
This is high quality juice that is well made and packs tons of power. It's a big wine, and we really enjoyed it. I hope to squirrel a couple away in the cellar and perhaps can make a follow up review for our Cellar Series.
I'm going 93 points very confidently on this wine. I think in 3-5 years it will even creep up from there. Nice stuff, and worth the money.
Don't forget to hit the Costco Wine forums to discuss this wine, and many others.
CostcoWineBlog.com Rating: 93 points (a CostcoWineBlog Recommended Wine)
Costco item number: 881747
Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA
Alc.13.5%
