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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

An Aussie Shiraz for Valentine's Day

2009 Mollydooker Shiraz "Blue Eyed Boy" (South Australia, McLaren Vale)


I unscrewed this wine on Valentine’s Day with my lover Val. She's a fan of big, fruity, dark wines, so this fruit bomb of a shiraz made perfect sense. 


This 100 percent shiraz is dark purple color in the glass… no surprise. Initially the aromas were quite restrained, and it took at least an hour in the decanter to open up and show aromas of paint, blueberry jam, violets and chocolate shavings. The longer it sat in the decanter and swirled in the glass, the brighter the fruit smelled. On the palate, this wine is solid. Dense tannins converge with plush fruit. It tastes like espresso beans crushed and mixed with blueberry pie reduction. Also some dark plum fruit and freshly crushed blackberries. The purity and smoothness of fruit is really astounding. The bitter chocolate on the finish is delicious. The mouthfeel of this wine is silky, but there’s also some grit. It doesn’t totally coat the palate. Vanilla accents the long finish. 


This is a classic Mollydooker sytle: bold, bombastic, pure. It is what it is, and I love it. I tasted the 2006 two years ago and have been looking forward to trying other vintages. Unfortunately, they made only a small amount of the Blue Eyed Boy in 2007,  and none in 2008 due to a difficult growing season. Lucky for my girl and I, the 2009 is back, and it kicks ass.


93 points (IJB)

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