2002 Jim Barry Shiraz The Armagh

This bottle is the 2002 Shiraz The Armagh sealed under cork. Quite distinct from the Stelvin-sealed bottle tasted beside it. This is gorgeous, fresh, and pleasurable. The Stelvin bottle is more detailed, more precise and more focused—this is like drinking the same wine that has been decanted. It’s open without being loose, and it's more approachable than the Stelvin rendition. Exciting. I’d prefer to have the Stelvin in my cellar, but I’d prefer to have someone open the cork bottle for me. It is structurally very attractive. It has 15.8% alcohol and matured for 18 months in 50% French and 50% American oak barriques (225 liters).

Dark and smoky nose with a touch of balsamic character. The black hole of the Clare Valley on the expansive and fleshy palate. So much black-fruit aroma that it’s hard to believe it’s a decade old, let alone two. The super-fine tannins give it wonderful silkiness at the very long finish. The same wine under cork closure is more supple, with a touch of caramel, rating two points lower. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

Inky dark ruby. Powerful, pungent scents of creme de mure, boysenberry syrup, dark chocolate, sweet mocha and violet face powder. Thick and mouthfilling, with dense, concentrated flavors of dark berry, Cuban coffee (including the flaming orange peel) and molten chocolate. The tannins on the finish are firm but buffered beautifully by the ripe fruit. This chewy, ultrasweet, superconcentrated shiraz was one of the densest, most powerful wines of my recent tastings. .