My ex-wife and I have split our wine collection (a sign of her character that we could do so without bloodshed) and my half has been delivered to my house. This is a terrible state of affairs, and I suspect I am going to have to find some kind of off-site wine storage or I'll drink the lot!
Anyway, I decided to open a bottle from our honeymoon to the Barossa. This was back in april last year. It is a 2001 Irma Adeline from Kabminye Wines, their Rhone style blend.
It is a blend of Shiraz, Mataro, Grenache, Marsanne, Roussanne and Ugni Blanc. (Never heard of that last one.) On opening, there was some funkyness, and the wine had stained the cork in a trickle half way to the opening. I thought I might have a bottle of vinegar on my hands, and left it for a little while.
I poured a little into a glass, and found the colour to be quite appealling. No signs of browning, and quite a brilliant ruby.
Giving myself a full glass, I sat down for the evening. The nose started out quite sharp, but with a wiff of blueberries followed by some leather. At this point I decided I had underestimated the wine, it was indeed a complex beast.
The palate was again a little acid to start out with, but the soft blueberry taste came through, with soft lingering tannins.
As the wine opened up a little more, the sharpness faded and the berry flavors came into the foreground. I began to notice a little licorice on the nose, and faint smoke, leather. It seemed a lot more balanced at this point.
Towards the end of the bottle, it did seem to fade a bit, but that may just have been my senses. Definitely need someone to share these tresures with. :-)
I'm thinking about buying a case eventually. I do have one question though... blueberry is a fairly uncommon flavor component for me, can any suggest which of the grapes might have lent this quality?
Cheers, and bottoms up.
Oliver White