Cooperage Organic Black Shiraz 1999

Last Friday, I pulled out a bottle of Cooperage Organic Black Shiraz 1999 and went to Dolphin to have dinner with my wife. This is a wine from Western Australia Margaret River area. The owner claimed that the vines for this wine are the oldest in that region.

Probably the earlier storage by the store G'day Mate has not been good. The cork disintegrated. The first glass was filled with remains of cork. The wine was still cold then. The nose is closed but the 1st sip reviewed complex coffee, prune taste and the aftertaste was great - cedar wood, vanilla etc.. Hmm... very complex, still have room for improvement.

I asked the supervisor to try the wine. He has a wealth of experience in wine having been importer of Bordeaux and Brugundy wine back in the '80s. Big is the word to describe the wine.

After an hour, the wine becomes rounder... This is the 3rd bottle I have opened since I bought 2 years back. The pronounced "salty" taste is back at the mid-palette and has an aroma of pepper and spices... Is the vineyard near the sea absorbing all the sea salts ?? Sometime I wondered how the wine would have been like if it has been properly stored. I would dare say it may even rival a Grange ? I like this wine. BTW, limited production for 600+ bottles each year.