Wednesday 22 June 2005

Tasting Notes - Massena 2003 Vintage (All Recommended)

This winery appears to be fast developing a rep as a producer of balanced and full flavoured reds that show remarkable consistency. A very easy combination to sell in retail land.....

Moonlight Run GSM + Cinsault 2003 $23
Medium blood red in the glass. Slightly unusual nose, tough to pick any defining characters, some licorice at best. A touch muted. Much bigger and stronger in the palate. Shows very good balance and hits all corners of the mouth. More licorice, plenty of ripeness drives a long finish. Never gets too sweet or broad; a classy wine from a less than perfect vintage.

11th Hour Shiraz 2003 $30
Faint nose, some vapour from the ripeness. Nice but not mind blowing. Super plush mouthful, and as per Dan's other work shows excellent balance. Never gets ahead of itself. Very ripe and fruit driven yet very in control, retaining class. I think this would show well against its much higher priced cousins from Torbreck. The best shiraz I have had for some time.

Barbera Dolcetto 2004 $21
Perfumed nose, nice floral notes, very clean and pure. Good mouthful, quite 'breezy' - true to type barbera. Acid levels keep the wine on its toes despite the 15% (absolutely not noticeable).

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