Less Impressive...

Another Aussie winery that wimps out with time!! I've seen this with Rosemount, Wolf-Blass and other producers. Too bad, they're either adjusting to consumer taste or laughing all the way to the bank...to my detriment.
I tasted the Pirramimma, Petit Verdot, McLaren Vale, 1999 last year (see archives, February 2007) and was "wowed" by it. So, when our local newspaper wine critic informed me that it was available in Quebec in the 2003 vintage and recommended it, I sauntered down to the shop in the spring sunshine and bought a couple of bottles of the new vintage. Well, as soon as I pulled the cork, I knew this wine was in trouble. A pink stained cork told me that this wine was not gonna be as "big" as the '99 (take a look at the black cork from the February archives). The nose remains its strong point - complex with blackberries and, er, um, Chinese food (you know, the good stuff, not that take out crap). It's only medium bodied on the palate with the blackberries reappearing , but there's not a lot of depth here. Definitely not a bruiser, this one is more of an elegant style...would actually have guessed it was a cab.
24 hours later that beautiful nose mutes a little, but the palate steps it up a notch - cedar and vanilla now share the fruit, which has become a little sour.
The verdict: It's a good wine, but miles behind the '99. Not gonna buy any more of this vintage at $26 a pop.
Cheers!!