Vanessa

9.5

Cornas AOC is a small and distinctive appellation in the Northern Rhône of France. 🇫🇷 Unlike its neighboring appellations, Cornas wines must be made with 100% Syrah. 🍇 This makes it a singular expression and benchmark in the world of Syrah. 🍷🍷

This particular wine is pronounced with harmonious aromas and flavors spanning the spectrum from primary to secondary to tertiary …

Offering generous notes of blackcurrant preserves, ripe black cherry, boysenberry, violet, cured meat, peat, forest floor, dark chocolate truffle, mocha, black peppercorn, star anise, fennel, cardamom, spice box, tobacco, cigar, clove, & saddle leather. — 5 months ago

with Deked1

Bob McDonald

9.4

A solid rich Ruby red with no tawny rim. Looks way younger than 27 years. An earthy, plummy leathery perfume with same earthy, plummy and minerally medium to full bodied palate - a sweaty saddle classic old Hunter Valley style. Medium plus intensity of flavour with great persistence. Demonstrates the amazing longevity of old vine Hunter Valley Shiraz. I think you could safely drink this into the late 2020s. Honouring the Hunter Valley legend, Maurice O’Shea, who made great wine in primitive conditions In the late 1940s and 1950’s. About 15 years ago I had a 1952 Mount Pleasant Shiraz made by the great man - just medium bodied and still full of energy. — 4 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.4

Classy showing red, black fruits with sweet savory spices, fine, silky tannins, saddle leather, graphite & tobacco — 5 months ago

Ron Siegel

9.3

This was fresh, showing well with red, black fruits, cedar, earth, saddle leather, savory spice & tobacco — a year ago

Mike Saviage

9.7

Taken to Hawksmoor in NYC for our uncle’s 75th. Decanted in hotel for 7 hrs before dinner. Dark reddish amber edges with dark tawny color center. Opaque. Great aged Bordeaux nose. Notes of black fruit, tobacco and cigar, cassis, old desk wood, saddle leather, some anise, some barnyard and a little mint. Rich and silky in the mouth. Long finish. The bottle (mid shoulder) wasn’t in as good of condition as the one we had a few weeks ago, but the outcome was similar. Family and the Somm all loved it, as did I. — 3 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.0

See several previous tasting notes for this wine. This was made back in the day when Hunter Valley reds had strayed from their medium bodied, savoury, sweaty saddle origins to being riper and more full bodied like a South Australian Red. This was declared in a speech by Chief Winemaker at the time, Jim Chatto, at a dinner I attended at the winery. Also plenty of oak still evident at 15 years of age. I prefer the original Hunter Valley style which Mount Pleasant has wisely reverted to utilising the wonderful old vine fruit at its disposal. Tasted again 35 weeks later on 26th March 2022. Nothing to add to the note here. A Hunter Valley wine trying to look like a South Australian wine back in 2006 with ripe fruit and oak. Thankfully HV reds have returned to the medium weight savoury long living style that Maurice O’Shea made in the 1950’s. — 4 years ago

Kirsten Spalding

9.3

Drinking this in Paros, Greece. Pairing this with the feral black and white cat next to us at our table who’s being a trooper with the little kids in its face saying hello. Black and red fruit. Earthy, tannic. — 7 months ago

Matt Perlman

9.3

Another beautiful bottle, notes consistent with prior — 3 years ago

David Nicewicz

9.5

Excellent start to fall with 82’ Cos. Perfume of cassis, old library and saddle leather gives way to an unctuous palate - cassis, hoisin, bacon, animal, tobacco and the classic Cos silky tannins. Excellent wine. — 3 years ago

Jan A

9.2

Rioja night, horse saddle leather, acidity — 4 years ago