Saltram No.1 Shiraz 2002

Date: 2 February 2006
Venue: Wilson's Apartment, Sydney

This vintage has won several trophies in the 2004 Perth Royal Wine Show as well as a few gold medals. I tasted a bottle of the 2001 vintage last December and thought it was excellent.

The wine was opened and aired for an hour without decanting. Nose was sweet with plum and spice, similar to the 2001 but a tad weaker. Palate was very spicy initially and overwhelmed the underlying fruit. The shiraz was then poured into the decanter and retasted after half an hour. What a metamorphosis - excellent weight and length with integrated flavours of plum, pepper and vanilla. Finish was a little rough as tannin was still a little coarse. A wine that is drinking alright at the moment but patience will be rewarded.

Rating: good