Australia

Rating

99

Release Price

$100

Drink Date

1998 - 2038

Reviewed by

Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

26th Jun 1998

Source

117, The Wine Advocate

An Austrian winemaker named Rolf Binder, who is also the winemaker for Veritas, has produced this intriguing wine. It takes winemaking to the extreme, yet manages to pull it off without producing a total freak.. How do you describe a wine such as this? Yields were a minuscule one ton of fruit per acre from 60-year old vines, production was 100 cases, and the wine's alcohol content is a mammoth 16.5%. This wine, which lasted four days in the bottle before I decided to pass the balance through my bowels, displays an opaque black/purple color, and exotic, coffee, chocolate, Asian spice, roast duck, and blackberry and prune liqueur-like aromas. To say the wine is unctuously-textured is an understatement. This wine looks like 10-W-40 motor oil. Very thick and dry, yet remarkably balanced, with fabulous purity, and a finish that goes on for nearly a minute, this spectacular Shiraz will become more civilized with each year of aging. It is the type of wine some Pomerol estates produced in such vintages as 1947, 1949, and 1950, but would not dare to fashion today because modern oenologists refuse to let the grapes become this ripe. A winemaking tour de force, The Malcolm Shiraz should age effortlessly for 40 or more years. 

Rating:

94

Price ($)

$78

Drink Date

2002 - 2018

Reviewed by

Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

30th Oct 2002

Source

143, The Wine Advocate

It's a no-brainer with respect to the dense purple-colored 1998 Shiraz Stonewell. The wine is inky/purple-colored, with oodles of blackberry and cassis fruit intermixed with hints of honeysuckle, wood, earth, and pepper. This full-throttle, majestic offering is super-concentrated and rich, with a wealth of glycerin, fruit, and extract. There is plenty of tannin lurking under the surface, but it is nearly obscured by the wine's exceptional depth. Anticipated maturity: now-2018.   

Reviewed by

Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

23rd Aug 2003

Source

148, The Wine Advocate

The virtually perfect, limited production (1,000 cases) cuvee of 2002 Shiraz Integrity is a 100% Shiraz fashioned from four specific vineyard blocks (surprisingly young vines of 4-6 years in age). It boasts terrific minerality, structure, definition, and prodigious levels of concentration as well as perfume. An inky/black color is followed by aromas of melted road tar, licorice, Asian spices, sweet creme de cassis as well as blackberries, and a hint of acacia flowers. There is compelling density, great purity, and tremendous viscosity, yet it is not over the top. There is real definition/delineation to this large-scaled Shiraz. It was aged in 100% new American oak for 13 months. A tour de force in winemaking, it stood out as one of the most singular and greatest wines I tasted for this report. Anticipated maturity: now-2012. Two of South Australia’s leading viticulturists/winemakers are undoubtedly husband and wife Sarah and Sparky Marquis. Their goals are common sense ones of “creating fruit weight, velvety sensations, and harvesting on ripeness, not sugar readings.” Perhaps their finest accomplishment has been to prove that high quality wines can be produced at a price point that thrills most wine consumers. P.S. Perhaps another way to think of these wines is that they are XXX-rated stuff. They’re not exactly wines for those wanting finesse, lightness, restraint, or intellectual challenge. These are totally decadent homages to joy and yumminess. Or, as a friend of mine said, they are “fragrantly delicious.”  

Rating

96+

Release Price

$300

Drink Date

2006 - 2026

Reviewed by

Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

26th Dec 2006

Source

168, The Wine Advocate

A wine of extraordinary intensity, richness, and extract (yields were .5 tons of fruit per acre), the 2004 Shiraz Duck Muck is a totally dry red that tips the scales at 17.5% alcohol. While it pushes the limits of civilized drinking, it is neither pruny nor hot, and should be tasted with an open mind and no hidden agenda (not as easy as one might expect, especially for Eurocentric palates). Inky/purple to the rim with a glorious perfume of crushed rocks, acacia flowers, blueberries, blackberries, creosote, and vanilla, it was aged in 100% new, heavily toasted French and American barrels for two years prior to bottling. It is nearly off the charts in terms of richness and extract. Although not for everybody, for those who are not reactionary in their tastes, it is an amazing wine that will be fascinating to follow over the next two decades.   

Rating

(94 - 96)

Release Price

$100

Drink Date

2013 - 2031

Reviewed by

Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

31st Oct 2006

Source

167, The Wine Advocate

Magpie’s luxury cuvee (which was last produced in 1999), the 2005 Shiraz Malcolm, spent 12 months in new American oak and 12 months in new French 500 liter pungeons. This is the ultimate 200% new oak wine. Nevertheless, it holds it well, which gives you an idea of just how concentrated this beast is. An inky/blue/purple color is followed by notes of creosote, blueberry liqueur, violets, and a hint of camphor. Super-rich, powerful, and opulent, with a formidable level of tannin, it should hit its peak in 7-8 years and last for 25 or more.  

Very deep garnet-purple colored, the 2008 Bin 620 Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz (a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon and 49% Shiraz) is a little restrained on the nose, presenting earthy, black truffle, moss covered bark and loam aromas over gentle notes of cassis, crushed blackberries, chocolate mint and pencil shavings, plus a fragrant whiff of cloves. Medium to full bodied, very ripe and rich in the mouth, the complex, layered fruit is densely packed and well supported by firm, finely grained tannins and very crisp acid. The finish is very long with a subtle hint of mint interspersed with warm berries, vanilla and baking spices. Consider drinking it 2015 to 2025+. Only about 900 cases were made of this wine.

Score: 98+ Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (199), February 2012

Deep garnet-purple in color and sporting a very forward and expressive, creme de cassis-led nose with hints of dried mint, dark chocolate and cigar boxes plus a whiff of dried herbs following, the full-bodied 2010 Cellar Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a rich, concentrated and classic Barossa Cabernet style shaped by medium to firm, grainy tannins and crisp acid. It finishes very long. Drink now to 2015+.