Served blind by our host Ken....what an experience.
Dark purple in the glass. Nose of classic Syrah notes. Palate is silky smooth, seems almost like a Cali Andremily. Fantastic and unbelievable at 22 years of age. Drinks like a 5-10 yo wine......thanks, Ken!
Still lovely, but showing its age. Decanted for sediment and drank over 3 hours. Still super smooth and extremely fruity. Not as lively as previous bottles but still delicious. Easy to drink and not in any way "port-like". The layers of chocolate, eucalyptus, coffee and smokiness are also still present. A fantastic wine and still solidly in the excellent rating range. Have one more that we will finish within the next year or two.
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Excellent drinking right now, and would have merited a higher score except for some warmish alcohol showing a little too prominently for my palate right now. Drink now and over the next several years.
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Based on recent reviews I pulled two bottles out of the cellar. Excellent wine enjoyed with roast beef. I did not find the wine sweet at all and the fruit has mellowed out. Very smooth with some acidity. This wine appears to be ageing gracefully.
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Having had the pleasure of drinking this several times over the past 3 years I can un equivocally say that this is a very fine wine in a great place along it's evolution which should provide exceptional drinking for many more years to come. For all of you haters who want to dismiss this as a Parker syrup fruit bomb all I can say is get a life. We consumed this wine this evening along side many great wines including a monumental Haut Brion 1996 and 1989 Angelus which were in their own right superb. (as well as several Napa big boys). The 2002 Amon Ra is definitely a new world wine with a velvety smooth dark palate that is balanced and pleasing. The wine has deep aromatics and good structure and finish and I would be happy to enjoy this anytime. If you don't like your bottles, providing they were well stored, feel free to PM me and I will be glad to take them off your hands so you can make room in your cellar & I will enjoy them with my crew. Cheers !
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Very nice. Smooth with a long finish. No real signs of ageing other than the wine has leaned out quite a bit. Will probably continue to drink well past the indicated drinking window.
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This was my last bottle of a VERY exceptional wine. I was still a strong performer which could have easily lasted another decade in my cellar but alas my desire to drink this awesome wine won the day.
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All the way! Celebrating 13th birthday of our youngest and in honor of his godparents opened Aussies. This has the deep purple fruit, eucalyptus, and dirt of the very best pedigree. It doesn't get any better than this, mate.
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I have written note after note of regret about some of the big Parker scored Australian Shiraz from the early 2000s. In brief, we have found them over extracted, too alcoholic, jammy and certainly not age-worthy. So every time I bring up another one, I anticipate pouring it down the drain. This wine, however, continues to surprise. The color was still intense, nose a little earthy and the wine was drinking very similarly to our last taste in 2010--I could use the same notes. Lots of fruit for sure, but tons of tar, that hoisin sauce element, and not too jammy or hot. While not a great wine, it has aged well. Also has a very nice long finish. A surprise.
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Still going strong. Very nice juice that continues to provide great drinking pleasure, and I don't see any end to this in the near future. Very ripe, but pretty mild by Australian wine standards, and substantial structure to hold all the fruit together. The oak is there, but is bothering me less and less as times goes by.
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This was fantastic. Upon opening had some almost old world funk to it and kept changing the whole 2 hours we drank it over. The fruit was muted to begin with but grew with time. Don't think I will open another for 5 years but if I do a nice 3 or 4 hour decant would probably be required.
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After 2 hour decant provided lots of spice and perfume in the nose. Well integrated without harsh tannins. Lots of power without any signs of dropping off. Very enjoyable. Drink or hold.
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This juice still appears and tastes extremely young. The oak is very powerful, and maybe a little more prominent than I remember. But it is still delicious and got drunk up very quickly. Drink now or hold, should be good for a long time.
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I've had lots of aged reds as of late but this one was by far the most unique and satisfying. I have a hard time imagining someone not enjoying this wine. At only 14.5%, the alcohol it is not intrusive at all. It was smooth as a baby's bottom, medium-heavy weight, and so complex it took me a while to figure it all out. Excellent with leg of lamb. A bit on the masculine side with smoke, eucalyptus, soy sauce and touch of oak, but at the same time feminine with the lovely dark fruit combo of plum and dark cherries. Psyched we have 3 more. Still plenty of tannins too. What a treat. Should last 5-7 more years at least.
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This was my first time comparing the 2002 Amon-Ra from the Barossa Valley (BV) and the McLaren Vale (MV). They were decanted for 2 1/2 hours before serving. The BV was initially muted, but opened up to become the more interesting wine. Concentrated, jammy and powerful with a plum overtone and good balance at first; I would have guessed it had a higher alcohol content than the MV, but it didn't (14.5% for both). It segued into a smoother wine that offered up spice and exotic dark fruits with excellent balance. The MV was initially smoother and better balanced. It showed its fruit better and was fresher than the BV. My sense was that the MV was at its peak when we started the tasting where the BV took additional time to get there.
Interestingly, the wine preference split on gender. The men slightly preferred the BV and the women slightly preferred the MV.
The Amon-Ra's were both excellent with an eggplant pasta using a red sauce.
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wow what a difference two hours makes. decanted at 2pm had a glass at 5pm and was not impressed, fruit was non-existant, tannic and austere. at 7pm poured a glass to have with new york strip and wow, tons of fruit and beautiful cinnamon chocolate backbone. very good depth and plenty of finish. i can see why this wine is called amon-ra as it created itself out of nothing in two hours.
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14.5% alcohol. at the big elzer cancer society benefit dinner, the conversation got around to how many australian wines are still in your cellar. not many for me, i dumped most just in the nick of time. there was some specific criticism of this producer/wine not holding up, and so...out came this final bottle tonight. decanted, and followed in the glass 3+ hours, with not much evolution. a mere shell of the wine that knocked my socks off on christmas eve 2005. this was more like how the wine showed in 3/10, i.e. pretty tannic, black fruits hanging on for dear life, little complexity. it wasn't a pour down the drain over the hill, but it wasn't much more than a minimum accompaniment to a thick steak. but, whoa, i sure liked it back in the day.
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Aussie Gems (Smith & Wollensky - Washington, DC): On the nose this was showing primarily dark berry fruit, black cherry, with some meat drippings and licorice. There is a little menthol on the nose as well. On the palate, this was still young, but starting to lose the seemlessness that the 2006 showed on the palate. It just feels a little disjointed at this stage. It is still nice with a luxurious mouthfeel, but doesn't have the complexity I had hoped for. It still boasts a long lingering finish. Based on this experience, I don't know if the 2006 would actually end up aging well or if there are better drunk early for their opulence than aged in the hope of complexity that in this case, hasn't shown up yet.
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Some obvious oak, but not overdone, and well integrated into the generous fruit concentration. Super lush, sexy juice, with intense fruit extract that somehow manages to avoid being jammy at all. Great backbone, though the tannins have now subsided, leaving a rich, chocolatey, voluptuous wine that is drinking beautifully now, and should be good for many years.
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Drank during a 2 hour dinner after a 2 hour decant. Wonderful perfume nose. Powerful mouth feel that is full of fruit with great structure, nice acids, and resolved tannins. It is drinking great now and appears to have lots of life left.
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Had this wine at dinner at Bandera. Deep purple, tannic, rich, big, reasonably balanced, moderate complexity, good finish. Wine slightly improved, became less edgy, when we had it the following evening.
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We enjoyed very much. While this is a big, big wine in the traditional Glaetzer style, everyone felt there was more balance, tannin, pepper than many Aust. big shiraz, and it drank very well. The nose was tar and rich fruit, and both carried into the mouth. Someone else mentioned hoisin sauce--great call. There was the intense element to the wine, but again, it was not simply big, flabby fruit.
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Dark red-purple. Hoisin, chocolate-covered raisin, cinnamon, barbecue sauce, chocolate cake, blackberry, and blackcurrant populate the numerous decadent notes on the nose. Rich but leavened by laser-sharpened edges and a reasonable overall attitude.
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march madness syrah excess. not blind. the last time i had this...well, you can read the hyberbolic note from christmas 05. the challenge is to decide if my palate has changed, or this wine didn't follow the parker evolutionary pathway. probably a little of both. in any event it is missing the lush fruit that sent me waxing poetic so long ago. not harsh, but tannins are pulled tight and the wine is one dimensional. maybe some air would help? not convinced.
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one of the better aussies I've had. They are a bit too big & obvious for me, but this was a very fine wine. Still quite young filled with dark fruit and oak
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my last bottle. First sip came after 20 minutes of decanting. the oak was VERY prevalent but thankfully toned down after about an hour. Black Currant, blueberry reduction, smoke, spice, tar and a touch of leather on the nose. low acidity made for a smooth, mouth coating texture with loads of sweet tannin that ended with fine grained astringency. I do believe that this wine would of matured into something amazing.
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More subdued and less jammy bright fruit that the other wines we were drinking had in (over) abundance. This wine was very well made and balanced. I could even see drinking it with food. Drinking well now, should hold up at least another 8 years or so. This is a very big wine.
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Brilliant fruit and with supporting acidity and a minty tone. Well concentrated and long without being jammy, and very drinkable while still a little bit tannic and backward.
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my wife is mega pissed that i'm breaking from christmas eve dinner to file this report. however, when she sees what's under the tree, i think i'll be in good shape.
opened mistakenly, as the mcclaren vale is super low production. i meant to open the barossa. i only have 1 other bottle.
anyway, all i can think to say is what our fearless leader occasionally refers to: LIQUID SEX. get the **** out of dodge with this wine, because it is friggin' sensational!!
not a touch of heat. PERFECT balance. melt in your mouth tannin and sweet, sweet scrumptious fruit. how the hell this will age is anybody's guess, because while it's full bodied, it's so pure of fruit and finish, that i can't project in my mind's eye it's evolution. it's big enough that it will hold for many years, and, jeez, i didn't decant it. even jane is sucking this down like it's no tomorrow.
ok, gotta go, or i won't get laid...
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<Ben taking off to AUS - Brisket> We busted out a Brisket slow cooked for 24 hours and opened a couple of Syrah/Shiraz to celebrate Ben's departure. This is an extraordinary wine that had a wonderful pairing. Very dark in color, intense dark fruits and floral notes on the nose. BIG, full bodied wine, that somehow maintains some balance. Jam packed with Dark Ripe Fruit, but there were other very interesting elements to this wine that continued to evolve with air. Leather and earthy tones, and some interesting stewed peaches. Great structure. Saved some of this to see how an extra day of air will treat it. Right now, I'd give the slight edge to the Barossa AmonRa, but this isn't far behind and I'd love to taste them side by side. 95+
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With great anticipation, we opened the first bottle, only to find it was corked....down the drain. With great trepidation, we opened the Barossa next (see notes there).
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3/6/2024 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 95 Points
Served blind by our host Ken....what an experience.
Dark purple in the glass. Nose of classic Syrah notes. Palate is silky smooth, seems almost like a Cali Andremily. Fantastic and unbelievable at 22 years of age. Drinks like a 5-10 yo wine......thanks, Ken!
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4/3/2023 - wine4ever Likes this wine:
Still lovely, but showing its age. Decanted for sediment and drank over 3 hours. Still super smooth and extremely fruity. Not as lively as previous bottles but still delicious. Easy to drink and not in any way "port-like". The layers of chocolate, eucalyptus, coffee and smokiness are also still present. A fantastic wine and still solidly in the excellent rating range. Have one more that we will finish within the next year or two.
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12/21/2021 - Pitkin_CT Likes this wine: 99 Points
Absolutely fantastic . So smooth
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9/5/2020 - wine4ever Likes this wine:
Delicious...as always. Huge wine, still very fresh with lots of dark fruit, eucalyptus, coffee, licorice. Smooth, long finish.
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6/2/2020 - RBurgundy99 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Pretty much all you could hope for in a shiraz. Flavours were deep and complex, still with a good amount of red fruit. A nice treat.
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4/13/2020 - rgawlowski Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very expressive; nice nose, very good and long finish and balance.
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2/23/2018 - robmatic wrote: 92 Points
Excellent drinking right now, and would have merited a higher score except for some warmish alcohol showing a little too prominently for my palate right now. Drink now and over the next several years.
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1/7/2018 - 309VEB Likes this wine: 92 Points
Based on recent reviews I pulled two bottles out of the cellar. Excellent wine enjoyed with roast beef. I did not find the wine sweet at all and the fruit has mellowed out. Very smooth with some acidity. This wine appears to be ageing gracefully.
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8/17/2017 - bon vivant wrote: 95 Points
Having had the pleasure of drinking this several times over the past 3 years I can un equivocally say that this is a very fine wine in a great place along it's evolution which should provide exceptional drinking for many more years to come. For all of you haters who want to dismiss this as a Parker syrup fruit bomb all I can say is get a life. We consumed this wine this evening along side many great wines including a monumental Haut Brion 1996 and 1989 Angelus which were in their own right superb. (as well as several Napa big boys). The 2002 Amon Ra is definitely a new world wine with a velvety smooth dark palate that is balanced and pleasing. The wine has deep aromatics and good structure and finish and I would be happy to enjoy this anytime. If you don't like your bottles, providing they were well stored, feel free to PM me and I will be glad to take them off your hands so you can make room in your cellar & I will enjoy them with my crew. Cheers !
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4/18/2017 - 309VEB wrote: 90 Points
Very nice. Smooth with a long finish. No real signs of ageing other than the wine has leaned out quite a bit. Will probably continue to drink well past the indicated drinking window.
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2/25/2017 - Stephen518 Likes this wine: 96 Points
This was my last bottle of a VERY exceptional wine. I was still a strong performer which could have easily lasted another decade in my cellar but alas my desire to drink this awesome wine won the day.
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9/25/2016 - gthelen Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drank over several days over which is showed very well. Gently toasted oak, no hard edges, fully integrated, lots of power, very enjoyable.
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1/29/2015 - rdfech01 Likes this wine: 95 Points
All the way! Celebrating 13th birthday of our youngest and in honor of his godparents opened Aussies. This has the deep purple fruit, eucalyptus, and dirt of the very best pedigree. It doesn't get any better than this, mate.
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7/4/2014 - wine4ever Likes this wine: 93 Points
Still drinking great. Similar notes as last time. Drink now or continue to hold.
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6/9/2014 - amred wrote: 91 Points
I have written note after note of regret about some of the big Parker scored Australian Shiraz from the early 2000s. In brief, we have found them over extracted, too alcoholic, jammy and certainly not age-worthy. So every time I bring up another one, I anticipate pouring it down the drain. This wine, however, continues to surprise. The color was still intense, nose a little earthy and the wine was drinking very similarly to our last taste in 2010--I could use the same notes. Lots of fruit for sure, but tons of tar, that hoisin sauce element, and not too jammy or hot. While not a great wine, it has aged well. Also has a very nice long finish. A surprise.
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5/2/2014 - warrenpeace wrote: 94 Points
Good blend of structure and fruit and seems like it will actually improve some more with 2-3 in bottle as the oak tannins are still very noticeable
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2/15/2014 - robmatic wrote: 93 Points
Still going strong. Very nice juice that continues to provide great drinking pleasure, and I don't see any end to this in the near future. Very ripe, but pretty mild by Australian wine standards, and substantial structure to hold all the fruit together. The oak is there, but is bothering me less and less as times goes by.
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1/25/2014 - calgarywino wrote: 94 Points
This was fantastic. Upon opening had some almost old world funk to it and kept changing the whole 2 hours we drank it over. The fruit was muted to begin with but grew with time. Don't think I will open another for 5 years but if I do a nice 3 or 4 hour decant would probably be required.
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11/30/2013 - gthelen Likes this wine: 94 Points
After 2 hour decant provided lots of spice and perfume in the nose. Well integrated without harsh tannins. Lots of power without any signs of dropping off. Very enjoyable. Drink or hold.
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7/20/2013 - robmatic wrote: 93 Points
This juice still appears and tastes extremely young. The oak is very powerful, and maybe a little more prominent than I remember. But it is still delicious and got drunk up very quickly. Drink now or hold, should be good for a long time.
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7/13/2013 - wine4ever Likes this wine: 94 Points
I've had lots of aged reds as of late but this one was by far the most unique and satisfying. I have a hard time imagining someone not enjoying this wine. At only 14.5%, the alcohol it is not intrusive at all. It was smooth as a baby's bottom, medium-heavy weight, and so complex it took me a while to figure it all out. Excellent with leg of lamb. A bit on the masculine side with smoke, eucalyptus, soy sauce and touch of oak, but at the same time feminine with the lovely dark fruit combo of plum and dark cherries. Psyched we have 3 more. Still plenty of tannins too. What a treat. Should last 5-7 more years at least.
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7/29/2011 - cadamson wrote: 91 Points
I liked this, holding up reasonably well. Still lot of fruit, especially black fruit. Yummy factor, not tons of complexity.
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7/26/2011 - pizzler wrote: 91 Points
This was my first time comparing the 2002 Amon-Ra from the Barossa Valley (BV) and the McLaren Vale (MV). They were decanted for 2 1/2 hours before serving. The BV was initially muted, but opened up to become the more interesting wine. Concentrated, jammy and powerful with a plum overtone and good balance at first; I would have guessed it had a higher alcohol content than the MV, but it didn't (14.5% for both). It segued into a smoother wine that offered up spice and exotic dark fruits with excellent balance. The MV was initially smoother and better balanced. It showed its fruit better and was fresher than the BV. My sense was that the MV was at its peak when we started the tasting where the BV took additional time to get there.
Interestingly, the wine preference split on gender. The men slightly preferred the BV and the women slightly preferred the MV.
The Amon-Ra's were both excellent with an eggplant pasta using a red sauce.
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6/9/2011 - sedation (yellowgas) wrote: 95 Points
wow what a difference two hours makes. decanted at 2pm had a glass at 5pm and was not impressed, fruit was non-existant, tannic and austere. at 7pm poured a glass to have with new york strip and wow, tons of fruit and beautiful cinnamon chocolate backbone. very good depth and plenty of finish. i can see why this wine is called amon-ra as it created itself out of nothing in two hours.
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6/8/2011 - jeff nowak wrote: 88 Points
14.5% alcohol. at the big elzer cancer society benefit dinner, the conversation got around to how many australian wines are still in your cellar. not many for me, i dumped most just in the nick of time. there was some specific criticism of this producer/wine not holding up, and so...out came this final bottle tonight. decanted, and followed in the glass 3+ hours, with not much evolution. a mere shell of the wine that knocked my socks off on christmas eve 2005. this was more like how the wine showed in 3/10, i.e. pretty tannic, black fruits hanging on for dear life, little complexity. it wasn't a pour down the drain over the hill, but it wasn't much more than a minimum accompaniment to a thick steak. but, whoa, i sure liked it back in the day.
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3/16/2011 - gblacave wrote: 84 Points
Aussie Gems (Smith & Wollensky - Washington, DC): On the nose this was showing primarily dark berry fruit, black cherry, with some meat drippings and licorice. There is a little menthol on the nose as well. On the palate, this was still young, but starting to lose the seemlessness that the 2006 showed on the palate. It just feels a little disjointed at this stage. It is still nice with a luxurious mouthfeel, but doesn't have the complexity I had hoped for. It still boasts a long lingering finish. Based on this experience, I don't know if the 2006 would actually end up aging well or if there are better drunk early for their opulence than aged in the hope of complexity that in this case, hasn't shown up yet.
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2/14/2011 - bonedocnine wrote: 94 Points
This wine is exactly what i expect from ben. Wow what a stunner. the fruit is amazing! Wish there was some more
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11/17/2010 - robmatic wrote: 95 Points
Some obvious oak, but not overdone, and well integrated into the generous fruit concentration. Super lush, sexy juice, with intense fruit extract that somehow manages to avoid being jammy at all. Great backbone, though the tannins have now subsided, leaving a rich, chocolatey, voluptuous wine that is drinking beautifully now, and should be good for many years.
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11/17/2010 - gthelen wrote: 95 Points
Drank during a 2 hour dinner after a 2 hour decant. Wonderful perfume nose. Powerful mouth feel that is full of fruit with great structure, nice acids, and resolved tannins. It is drinking great now and appears to have lots of life left.
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10/11/2010 - bonniewai@waiconnor.com wrote: 93 Points
Had this wine at dinner at Bandera. Deep purple, tannic, rich, big, reasonably balanced, moderate complexity, good finish. Wine slightly improved, became less edgy, when we had it the following evening.
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9/27/2010 - amred wrote: 94 Points
We enjoyed very much. While this is a big, big wine in the traditional Glaetzer style, everyone felt there was more balance, tannin, pepper than many Aust. big shiraz, and it drank very well. The nose was tar and rich fruit, and both carried into the mouth. Someone else mentioned hoisin sauce--great call. There was the intense element to the wine, but again, it was not simply big, flabby fruit.
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9/15/2010 - tcfishler wrote:
Dark red-purple. Hoisin, chocolate-covered raisin, cinnamon, barbecue sauce, chocolate cake, blackberry, and blackcurrant populate the numerous decadent notes on the nose. Rich but leavened by laser-sharpened edges and a reasonable overall attitude.
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3/20/2010 - jeff nowak wrote: 89 Points
march madness syrah excess. not blind. the last time i had this...well, you can read the hyberbolic note from christmas 05. the challenge is to decide if my palate has changed, or this wine didn't follow the parker evolutionary pathway. probably a little of both. in any event it is missing the lush fruit that sent me waxing poetic so long ago. not harsh, but tannins are pulled tight and the wine is one dimensional. maybe some air would help? not convinced.
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1/1/2010 - PIR wrote: 92 Points
one of the better aussies I've had. They are a bit too big & obvious for me, but this was a very fine wine. Still quite young filled with dark fruit and oak
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5/25/2009 - happynothing wrote: 94 Points
my last bottle. First sip came after 20 minutes of decanting. the oak was VERY prevalent but thankfully toned down after about an hour. Black Currant, blueberry reduction, smoke, spice, tar and a touch of leather on the nose. low acidity made for a smooth, mouth coating texture with loads of sweet tannin that ended with fine grained astringency. I do believe that this wine would of matured into something amazing.
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1/18/2009 - Catnapped wrote: 95 Points
More subdued and less jammy bright fruit that the other wines we were drinking had in (over) abundance. This wine was very well made and balanced. I could even see drinking it with food. Drinking well now, should hold up at least another 8 years or so. This is a very big wine.
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9/4/2008 - robmatic wrote: 93 Points
Brilliant fruit and with supporting acidity and a minty tone. Well concentrated and long without being jammy, and very drinkable while still a little bit tannic and backward.
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8/20/2008 - isdblm@lsu.edu wrote: 95 Points
Shared w L on 8/16/17--lovely after 2 hours decanting, even better the next day.
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12/24/2005 - jeff nowak wrote: 98 Points
14.5% alcohol.
my wife is mega pissed that i'm breaking from christmas eve dinner to file this report. however, when she sees what's under the tree, i think i'll be in good shape.
opened mistakenly, as the mcclaren vale is super low production. i meant to open the barossa. i only have 1 other bottle.
anyway, all i can think to say is what our fearless leader occasionally refers to: LIQUID SEX. get the **** out of dodge with this wine, because it is friggin' sensational!!
not a touch of heat. PERFECT balance. melt in your mouth tannin and sweet, sweet scrumptious fruit. how the hell this will age is anybody's guess, because while it's full bodied, it's so pure of fruit and finish, that i can't project in my mind's eye it's evolution. it's big enough that it will hold for many years, and, jeez, i didn't decant it. even jane is sucking this down like it's no tomorrow.
ok, gotta go, or i won't get laid...
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10/27/2005 - lorenzo wrote: 95 Points
<Ben taking off to AUS - Brisket>
We busted out a Brisket slow cooked for 24 hours and opened a couple of Syrah/Shiraz to celebrate Ben's departure. This is an extraordinary wine that had a wonderful pairing. Very dark in color, intense dark fruits and floral notes on the nose. BIG, full bodied wine, that somehow maintains some balance. Jam packed with Dark Ripe Fruit, but there were other very interesting elements to this wine that continued to evolve with air. Leather and earthy tones, and some interesting stewed peaches. Great structure. Saved some of this to see how an extra day of air will treat it. Right now, I'd give the slight edge to the Barossa AmonRa, but this isn't far behind and I'd love to taste them side by side. 95+
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10/22/2005 - amred wrote: flawed
With great anticipation, we opened the first bottle, only to find it was corked....down the drain. With great trepidation, we opened the Barossa next (see notes there).
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