Tasting notes

Colour: Purple and maroon with a dense, youthful edge. Nose: Blackberry, raspberry, plum, blueberry, with lifted mocha and spice complexity. Secondary aromas of vanilla, coffee and charred oak offer added complexity. Palate: Due to the season the palate is powerful and ascertive. Robust tannins grip well but are nicely balanced with glycerol sweetness from the old vines. Finish is firm with excellent persistence in flavour Notes: Rich and intense with the warmth and flavour that only the Barossa can achieve. The alcohol for the 2001 is 14.5%. The low crop and warm conditions allowed flavours to peak to levels unseen in this vineyard before. This wine will age well over the next 15 years if cellared correctly. In its youth (less than 5 years) this wine will peak in its balance about 12 hours after opening. Decanting will help the wine immensly.

Rating

Wine Spectator 96 points (May 31 2004) A big but remarkably elegant wine, focusing its pure blueberry, blackberry and plum flavors on a laser beam of finely balanced tannins and judicious acidity, persisting on the finish with glints of white pepper, licorice and coffee. Serious stuff that begs for cellar time. Best from 2010 through 2025. 400 cases made. –HS  Wine Advocate 96 points (Oct 2003) Racheting up the level of concentration, intensity, flamboyance as well as structure is the 2001 Shiraz Old Bastard. Although expensive, it is produced from 110-year old vines, and represents one of the great classics from Barossa. When compared to the price of a wine such as Penfolds Grange, it is a reasonably good bargain. The inky purple color is accompanied by gorgeous aromas of smoke, camphor, melted licorice, blackberries, cherries, and flowers. Dense, rich, and full-bodied with the wood well-concealed beneath spectacular concentration and extract, there is not a hard edge to be found in this old vine Barossa Shiraz. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2018. Racheting up the level of concentration, intensity, flamboyance as well as structure is the 2001 Shiraz Old Bastard. Although expensive, it is produced from 110-year old vines, and represents one of the great classics from Barossa. When compared to the price of a wine such as Penfolds Grange, it is a reasonably good bargain. The inky purple color is accompanied by gorgeous aromas of smoke, camphor, melted licorice, blackberries, cherries, and flowers. Dense, rich, and full-bodied with the wood well-concealed beneath spectacular concentration and extract, there is not a hard edge to be found in this old vine Barossa Shiraz. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2018.

Wine maker notes

The Old Bastard is a selection from the ‘OB 1893,(Old Bastards), block. The selection is made at the time of blending the Old Vine Shiraz. If there are any exceptional barrels, they are further matured for up to six months and made into a special, limited release wine. The 2001 growing season was the hottest since 1904. The wines are forthright and robust The wine was fermented in stainless steel and transferred to new French oak barriques, after alcoholic fermentation, where it completed its malolactic fermentation. It was racked and acid adjusted post MLF, then returned to barrel. The wine was topped regularly with rackings at 12 and 18 months. The total maturation in oak was for 26 months. The wine was bottled with no fining or filtration.