When this wine emerged on the scene in the mid 1990’s the wine press heaped praise after praise upon it. I remember the fervor surrounding the 1995 and 1998 releases and I really liked the wine then; it was like an Ambassador from Australia, an introduction to the tongue and teeth staining wine that is Oz Shiraz. As high quality Australian wines gained in popularity, no doubt fueled in part by this very wine, the price started increasing to a point where I was no longer interested.
The 2001 Rosemount Balmoral Syrah is black in the decanter. Absolutely opaque. Named “Syrah”, as opposed to the more traditional Australian labeling of “Shiraz”, because it is stylistically closer to European Syrah rather than it’s Australian counterparts – the wine displays a bit of both worlds. I had to decant off a substantial, coffee grind like sediment. In the glass, the wine has aromas very typical of the grape. This is leathery, earthy, with black fruits, smoked meats, and ground coffee. In the mouth, the wine is ripe and with good concentration. There’s a slightly bitter astringency that I could do without, and an almost “oily” sensation as the wine finishes. There’s slight vanilla and toasted oak, and the tannins are still evident. This is very nice wine, but it falls short of what it used to be. I remember being told that as demand went up for this wine, the quality of the grapes going into it went down as Rosemount tried to meet the increasing demand. In sum, this is very good, but it’s no longer the unique experience that it was. 88 points, about $28.
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| 2001 Balmoral Syrah – The Namesake of the Regal Scottish Castle |
Another blast from the past! I drank a lot of this from the early 90s vintages '92-'94 kind of stuff. I liked it back then even though it was a splurge in the $30 range.
Although something tells me I'd probably hate all the American oak nowadays. And I hate to belabor a point, but despite what Rosemount says, no Shiraz aged in new American oak reminds me of French Syrah…..
Agreed on your last point. This would stand out (probably for the worse) in a lineup of similarly priced Cote Rotie, etc. There's nothing "French" about this wine.
This wine made my teeth purple for 3 days!
John, if I'd seen the Rosemount Balmoral Syrah, I'd be tempted to buy it, but now I'd think again, and I think the newer vintages are like forty green backs.
John, some will disagree with me, but this is an effective advocacy.
Thanks,
Dennis
Dennis, while this may not be the recent release, there is a local store that has this vintage, which I just bought. So the quoted price, in this case is current.
Thanks John.
I have a question for you, and it's not that I haven't tried to find the answer: Italy (Country), Piedmont (Region), Cuneo (Provence), Alba (Town), Vignota sub-division, or what is this designation? Just if you happen to know, don't go-a-lookin and waste your time. I'm thinking it is just like our AVA.
Thanks,
Dennis
Dennis,
I'm sorry, I'm not really sure what you're asking. ?? Piedmont is one of Italy's 20 regions and Cuneo is both a province within Piedmont and the "capital city" of the province by the same name.
J
I guess I should have said is Vignota a designated wine area of Italy similar to the AVA?
Thanks,
dennis
Oh, now I see what you're getting at! I didn't realize it was within the context of your Conterno-Fantino review. Vignota, in that case, would either be a proprietary name for the wine (like Insignia) in order to set it apart either quality wise or stylistically from C-F's other Barbera, or just as likely, the name of a specific vineyard. You probably got your hands on a single vineyard Barbera.
J
John if it's alright, I'd like to copy and paste this answer to my post comments; please let me know if that's OK.
Thanks, Dennis
Of course, post whatever you like.
J