2002 Shiraz Covenant
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
Deep ruby. Intensely aromatic nose features flamboyantly ripe dark berries, plum, kirsch, anise, roasted coffee and vanilla. Thick and creamy, almost oily in texture. The dense, superripe cassis and dark plum flavors are framed by exotic spicy oak that some tasters may find excessive. Finishes intensely sweet and long, the tannins building with aeration.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
Seamless, provocative, and gorgeously perfumed and flavored is the 2002 Shiraz Covenant. Fashioned from a 30- to 40-year-old Clare Valley vineyard, this 2,000 case cuvee sees more new oak than its siblings. Its black/blue color is followed by a terrific bouquet of creosote, blackberries, scorched earth, chocolate, and espresso aromas. It reminded me of a hypothetical blend of an old style La Mission-Haut-Brion and a mid-seventies Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. Full-bodied flavors, great intensity, tremendous richness, superb structure, and fine overall balance as well as purity are found in this riveting old vine Shiraz. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2016. Importer: Peter Weygandt, Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800