2003 Dry Red No 2 Shiraz

The profound, deep ruby/purple-hued 2003 Dry Red Wine No. 2 offers an explosive bouquet of raspberries, mint, earth, kirsch liqueur, spice box, and licorice. Full-bodied and rich as well as remarkably elegant, complex, and nuanced with tremendous flavor dimension, it is amazingly light on its feet, and should evolve for a decade. This artisinal winery produces what must be the most idiosyncratic/eccentric wines of Australia. They can be absolutely spectacular, or they can be distressingly irregular, one never knows which until the cork is pulled. I suspect if the late recluse of Chateauneuf du Pape, Jacques Reynaud, were reincarnated in Australia, he might be making the wines at this backwater address. Importer: Gavin Speight, Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 258-9552