Sterling Wine Auctions Australia

PARKER PERFECT

Parker Perfect 99 and 100 point wines in the July Sterling Catalogue

When only the best will do!

2001 Greenock Creek Shiraz Apricot Block 99pts Lots 327-340
The 2001 Shiraz Apricot Block represents a spectacular example of Barossa Shiraz. Made from 10-year-old vines cropped at 1-1.5 tons per acre, it is a dense, full-bodied Shiraz possessing fabulous intensity, great purity, and a multi-tiered, skyscraper-like mid-palate. It can be drunk young or cellared through 2018-2020.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com June 2007 $US125-185
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #155 October 2004

2001 Greenock Creek Shiraz Roennfeldt Road 99pts Lot 342
The 2001 Shiraz “Roennfeldt Road,” from an outstanding vintage, is the finest since the near-perfect 1998. Opaque purple/black, it offers a mind-boggling bouquet of pencil lead, earth, white truffle, pepper, violets, licorice, blackberry, and blueberry compote. Dense, opulent, and full-bodied, there are mouth-filling, spicy, blue and black fruit flavors with notes of chocolate in the background. This sensational effort demands 8-10 years of additional bottle age and should drink well through 2030. Greenock Creek Vineyard and Cellars, owned by Michael and Annabelle Waugh, is one of the Barossa’s benchmark wineries. Start with a great terroir, add in old vine material, and meticulous winemaking and the results are usually extraordinary.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com November 2007 $US465
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #173 October 2007

2002 Jim Barry Shiraz The Armagh 99pts Lots 463-465
Amazingly, the 2002 Shiraz The Armagh is even better than the McRae Wood. This cuvee is aged 14 months in both French and American oak, and is bottled without filtration. The inky/purple-colored 2002 The Armagh boasts notes of scorched earth, chocolate, leather, blackberries, and cassis. Its huge body, marvelous integration of acidity, tannin, and alcohol, and stunning finish of 60+ seconds are impressive. While accessible, it will be even better with 1-2 more years of bottle age, and should evolve for 12-15+
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com June 2007 $US300
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #155 October 2004

2005 Mollydooker Carnival Of Love 99pts Lots 555-556
Amazingly, the 2005 Carnival of Love ratchets up the level of quality. A selection of the finest Shiraz barrels, it boasts an extraordinary black/purple color, gorgeous notes of blackberry liqueur, camphor, and smoke, and an enormous voluptuousness that would make even Pamela Anderson jealous. Great purity, symmetry, and harmony as well as remarkable balance for such a rich, intense wine, as it sat in the glass espresso, vanillin, white chocolate, and additional black fruits also emerged. It should drink well for a decade, although the winemakers suggest it be consumed over the next four years. If you are wondering what to serve with this beauty, Sarah and Sparky Marquis recommend such fish as marlin, hammerhead, and great white shark, white meats such as snake and crocodile, red meats such as emu and kangaroo, and aged wallaby mild cheese. Yum!
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com June 2007 $US125-185
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #167 Oct 2006

2003 Noon Shiraz Reserve 99pts Lots 674-676
Not surprisingly, the 2003 Shiraz Reserve possesses off-the-charts richness as well as an intoxicatingly complex, multidimensional bouquet of smoke, licorice, blackberries, cassis, vanilla, and incense. A huge, sweet, rich, concentrated attack becomes even more impressive with laser-like precision to its full-bodied, super-concentrated style. Boasting good acidity, ripe tannin, and a layered mouthfeel, this stunning Shiraz is the finest I have ever tasted from the Langhorne Creek sector of South Australia. It should drink well for two decades.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com September 2007 $US215
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #161 Oct 2005

2006 Noon Shiraz Reserve 99pts Lots 677-682
The 2006 Reserve Shiraz was sourced from a 45-year-old vineyard and aged for 18 months in small and large French and American oak. Opaque purple/black in color, it gives up a lavish perfume of smoke, mineral, game, bacon, and blueberry that leaps from the glass. Thick, opulent, and intense, it coats the mouth with savory fruit, spices, and a hint of chocolate. Seamless on the palate, it nevertheless conceals enough structure to evolve for a decade for those able to resist its immediate come-on. It should be at its best from 2012 to 2030. Noon, under the leadership of Drew Noon MW, remains one of Australia-s iconic wineries. As usual, Drew Noon sets the bar for South Australia.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com April 2009 $US100-160
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #181 Feb 2009

1998 Penfolds Grange 99pts Lots789-793
The 1998 Grange will be legendary. A blend of 97% Shiraz and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, it tips the scales at a whopping 14.5% alcohol. The inky/purple color is followed by an extraordinarily intense nose of creme de cassis intermixed with blueberry and floral notes. As the wine sits in the glass, aromas of meat, plums, and cola also emerge. It is a seamless effort with sweet tannin, well-integrated acidity, sensational extract, and layer upon layer of blackberry and cassis fruit that stain the palate and fill the mouth. Its harmony, freshness, and remarkable length (the finish lasts nearly a minute) suggest an all-time classic. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2030.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com June 2007 $US295-535
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #148 August 2003

1976 Penfolds Grange 100pts Lot 822
Consistently one of the most awesome wines ever made at Grange, this blend of 89% Shiraz and 11% Cabernet Sauvignon (13.9% alcohol) was the first Australian wine to cost $20 upon release. I have had this wine six separate times, every time rating it between 96 and 100. It had a phenomenal showing at Penfolds' Magill estate. The color is an opaque purple, the wine massive, full-bodied, and to me, the quintessential Grange. Notes of blackberry liqueur intermixed with cassis, charcoal, new saddle leather, and underbrush resonate from the glass. Huge, thick, unctuously textured, with extraordinary concentration but perfect harmony among all of its elements, this is a prodigious Grange that is still not fully mature. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2020. A legend for sure!
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com June 2007 $US1,100-1,400
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #e2002 Feb 2002

NV R L Buller Calliope Rare Tokay 100pts Lots 895-896
The prodigious, dark amber-colored Calliope Rare Tokay boasts colossal aromatics and flavors of melted caramels, coffee, toffee, candied fruits marinated in cognac, magnificent richness, and a huge finish that lasts over 70 seconds. My tasting notes for these wines were virtually identical to those from my report in issue #155 as the solera blends for these cuvees remain essentially the same. I did rate the Victoria Tawny slightly higher this year. Readers just need to be aware that these fortifieds must be tasted to be believed as they are among the world’s most profound after-dinner fortified wines. This blend represents the newest bottled offerings from this Rutherglen producer, an area that produces spectacular fortifieds, especially the Muscats and Tokays (actually Muscadelle). Its freshness, good acidity, soaring aromatics, and unctuous flavors must be tasted to be believed.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com June 2007 $US120-150
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #161 Oct 2005

2004 Standish Shiraz / Viognier The Relic 99pts Lot 952
More exotic and flamboyant than the Shiraz, but equally profound is the 2004 Shiraz/Viognier The Relic (93% and 7% respectively, cropped at .5 tons of fruit per acre, and aged 20 months in old French oak). An inky/purple-colored, powerful, full-bodied, rich red, it possesses a huge, sweet nose of blue and black fruits, flowers, and subtle oak, a blockbuster mid-section, and an amazingly long finish. More approachable than the 2003 Shiraz, it can be drunk now or cellared for 15 or more years. Dan Standish is one of the Barossa’s up-and-coming superstars, and his wines merit serious attention.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com June 2008 $US80
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #167October 2006

2002 Torbreck Run Rig 99pts Lots 993-999
The 2002 Run Rig (97% Shiraz and 3% Viognier aged in 100% new French oak) represents the essence of old vine Barossa fruit. Extraordinarily opulent and rich, but playing it closer to the vest than the 2001, it gets my nod as one of the most remarkable wines made in either the Southern or Northern Hemisphere. An inky/purple color is accompanied by a sumptuous bouquet of apricots, honeysuckle, black raspberries, blackberries, licorice, and a hint of roasted meats. The wood has been soaked up by the wine’s extraordinary concentration. Fashioned from four sectors of Barossa (Maranaga, Koonunga Hill, Moppa, and Greenock), it spent 30 months in primarily new oak, and was bottled without fining or filtration. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020+. David Powell, unquestionably one of the world’s finest wine producers, has an uncanny ability to discover old vine Barossa vineyards, and then secure long term contracts for their fruit. It is amazing that such high quality sources have not already been plucked by Australia’s giant wine corporations. Torbreck’s wines continue to get better and better, combining the old vine ripe fruit of Barossa with a European sensitivity to elegance and balance. The finest wines in this portfolio are pricy, but David Powell delivers some remarkable reds and whites at prices that are more than fair for the quality in the bottle.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com June 2007 $US160-350
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #161 Oct 2005

2003 Torbreck Run Rig 99pts Lots 1000-1002
The estate’s flagship cuvee is the virtually perfect 2003 Run Rig. Made from 8 separate Barossa vineyards (ranging in age from 94 to 158 years), it is primarily Shiraz with 4-5% co-fermented Viognier included in the blend. The wine was aged in French oak of which 60% is new. The sensational, inky/purple-tinged 2003 exhibits a stunningly sweet nose of blackberries, blueberries, litchi nuts, smoked meats, and a hint of apricots. Elegant yet super-powerful, rich, concentrated, and long, it is a tour de force in winemaking as well as a modern classic example of Barossa Shiraz. It should drink well for 20-25 years.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com June 2007 $US170-292
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #167 Oct 2006

1996 Krug Clos de Mesnil Blanc de Blanc 99pts Lot 1116
Hard as it may seem to believe, the 1996 Krug Clos du Mesnil is even better than the 1996 Krug Vintage. Still painfully young, the wine reveals incredible detail in a vivid expression of white peaches, flowers and minerals. While the Vintage is exuberant and expressive, the Clos du Mesnil is all about subtlety, finesse and an incredibly understated, feminine style of Champagne. This is surely one of the most profound wines that have ever passed my lips, and my only hope is that I will have an opportunity to taste it again at some point in the future. For now, the 1996 Clos du Mesnil remains a reference-point wine of the very highest level.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com October 2007 $US1498
Robert Parkers Italy Report May 2009

2005 Chapoutier Ermitage l'Ermite 99pts Lot 1167
Lastly, from the very dome of the granite hill of Ermitage is the 2005 Ermitage l’Ermite. An extraordinarily powerful wine that probably needs 10-15 years in the bottle (last year I thought 20 was probably conservative), this is a 100-year wine and probably best appreciated by our descendants rather than anyone currently over the age of 30. Dense purple to the rim, with notes of crushed rock, charcoal, roasted meats, and enormous quantities of blue and black fruits, this wine is almost painfully rich and thick, with mouthsearing levels of tannin and zesty acidity. Monumental! Anticipated maturity: 2020-2080. With twenty vintages under his belt, Michel Chapoutier and his impressive winemaking staff go from strength to strength. These are among the world’s greatest wines, especially the single vineyard wines, many of which will last 50 or more years.The 2006 reds from Chapoutier display good acidity and freshness. If they lack the powerful tannic structures of the 2005s, and perhaps some of that vintage’s density, they are certainly not light wines. It is a vintage of finesse and concentration, but with considerable up-front charm. Again, 1991 is a useful historic reference. They are the perfect foil for those buying 2005s, which will require deferred gratification. The single-vineyard, or as Chapoutier calls them, the “Selections Parcellaires” wines, are all aged in small barrels, often 100% new oak, and bottled with neither fining nor filtration. Production is relatively small, with the tiniest cuvee, the Crozes-Hermitage Les Varonnieres usually 200-325 cases, and the rest of the single-vineyard wines averaging around 480-625 cases. The largest is usually the St.-Joseph Les Granits or the Ermitage Le Pavillon, which can be as high as 1,000 or so cases in an abundant vintage. Again, the 2005s all exhibit the vintage’s density, tannic structure, and long-term aging potential. At the same time, the 2006s at Chapoutier remind me of 1991, initially an underrated vintage of wines with ideal balance. If they lack the pure power and structure of 2005, they are well-served by their purity and equilibrium. There are four single-vineyard cuvees of Ermitage. Production is small, running from about 275-300 cases of Les Greffieux, 480-500 of Le Meal, 800-1,100 for Le Pavillon, and 200-600 for L’Ermite.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com October 2007 $US830
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #175 February 2008

2003 Guigal Cote Rotie la Landonne 100pts Lots 1194-1199
Dense purple to the rim with a nose of graphite, creosote, earth, olives, and black, black, black fruits, the primordial, full-bodied, monumental 2003 Cote Rotie La Landonne is amazing stuff. I suspect this is more akin to a dry vintage port than most Cote Roties ever tend to be, but the purity, the richness, the texture, the length are all out of this world. This wine does need some patience on the part of its purchasers, probably five years, more likely 8-10, but then one of the world’s most compelling elixirs will be at its peak for another 20-30+ years.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com June 2007 $US750-1050
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #170 April 2007

2003 Guigal Cote Rotie la Mouline 100pts Lots 1200-1205
The 2003 Cote Rotie La Mouline is by far the most delicate and elegant wine (11% Viognier is co-fermented with 89% Syrah). but the enormous aromatics of spring flowers intermixed with creme de cassis, black raspberry, mocha, caramel, and cola, and enormous full-bodied opulence and striking velvety, seamless texture make for one of the most memorable wines anyone could every drink. This wine should age effortlessly for 25-30 or more years.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com June 2007 $US750-1050
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #170 April 2007

2003 Guigal Cote Rotie la Turque 100pts Lots 1206-1211
A pure aromatic smorgasbord is offered by the 2003 Cote Rotie La Turque, which has an amazing aromatic profile of espresso coffee interwoven with scorched earth, tar, truffle, incense, blackberry, bacon fat, and flowers. Powerful, thick flavors ooze across the palate with a viscous texture, amazing purity, and just enough acidity and tannin to give uplift and precision to this remarkable tour de force in winemaking. Of the 2003s, this is also approachable, but ideally 2-5 years of cellaring would be suggested, and the wine will evolve for at least 30 more years.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com June 2007 $US750-1050
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #170 April 2007

2000 Leoville-Las Cases 99pts Lots 1379-1390
This wine has put on weight and, as impressive as it was from cask, it is even more brilliant from bottle. Only 35% of the crop made it into the 2000 Leoville Las Cases, a blend of 76.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.4% Merlot, and 8.8% Cabernet Franc. The wine is truly profound, with an opaque purple color and a tight but promising nose of vanilla, sweet cherry liqueur, black currants, and licorice in a dense, full-bodied, almost painfully rich, intense style with no hard edges. This seamless classic builds in the mouth, with a finish that lasts over 60 seconds. Still primary, yet extraordinarily pure, this compelling wine, which continues to build flavor intensity and exhibit additional layers of texture, is a tour de force in winemaking and certainly one of the great Leoville Las Cases. In another sense, it symbolizes / pays homage to proprietor Michel Delon, who passed away in 2000. Michel has been succeeded by his son, Jean-Hubert, another perfectionist. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2040.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com Jan 2009 $US271-906
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #146 April 2003

July 2009