Sterling Wine Auctions Australia

PARKER PERFECT

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

When only the best will do!

NV Campbells Rare Muscat Merchant Prince 99pts Lot191
The more ancient soleras (usually the base wine is well over 60 years of age) are bottled under the “Rare” caption, and often flirt with perfection. The deep amber-colored non-vintage Rare Muscat Merchant Prince has 328 grams of residual sugar per liter, approximately 18% alcohol, and huge extract and richness. Notes of figs, marmalade, toffee, caramel, and gorgeous sweetness as well as richness are all found in this beauty
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com October 2007 $US85
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #168 December 2006

2001 Greenock Creek Shiraz Apricot Block 99pts Lot 594
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

1998 Greenock Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Roennfeldt Road 100pts Lot 604
Since availability is extremely restricted, I’ll keep my notes brief for the limited production (approximately 60 cases), perfect 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon Roennfeldt Road. It is a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon made from a 60-year-old vineyard that spent three years in neutral French oak. The wine possesses the concentration of the greatest classics ever produced in such Bordeaux vintages as 1945, 1947, 1959, 1961, and 1982. This is a full-bodied red with a finish that lasts well over 60 seconds. For its size and concentration, it is, surprisingly, not heavy, just super-endowed. The Cabernet Sauvignon needs 2-3 more years of cellaring, and should drink well for two decades. Unfortunately, quantities are extremely limited for this spectacular, world-class Australian red.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com May 2008 $US300
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #155 October 2004

2005 Mollydooker Carnival Of Love 99pts Lot 861
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

2002 Noon Shiraz Reserve 99pts Lot 915-916
Flirting with perfection, the blue/purple-colored 2002 Shiraz Reserve is a 300-case cuvee produced from 40-year-old vines that was aged in a combination of small and large oak. Along with a texture reminiscent of motor oil, this full-bodied, remarkably intense Shiraz possesses great purity and richness as well as a broad palate. As concentrated as Shiraz can get, it is also impeccably well-balanced, elegant, and bursting with personality/soul. It is the kind of wine that is hard to duplicate anywhere else in the world. It is good to see certain winemakers refuse to put the brakes on when producing something of this ilk. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2016+.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com September 2007 $US219
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #155 Oct 2004

2003 Noon Shiraz Reserve 99pts Lot 917
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

2005 Noon Shiraz Reserve 99pts Lot 924-936
The 2005 Shiraz Reserve was sourced from a 45-year-old vineyard and aged for 18 months in American and French oak of various sizes. A saturated purple color, it presents an array of otherworldly scents including smoke, mineral, meat, game, bacon, and blueberry. Thick, rich, and voluptuous, this mouth-filling, full-bodied Shiraz is about as hedonistic as it gets. Although the wine is seamless, there is some tannin lurking under all the fruit which will permit 8-10 years of cellaring for those able to delay gratification. The finish is amazingly long and pure, seeming to never end. As usual, the Noon wines are benchmarks against which all others must be compared. Noon Winery is owned and operated by Drew and Rae Noon. It continues to be one of Australia’s benchmarks.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com Novemberr 2007 $US165-175
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #173 Oct 2007

1976 Penfolds Grange 100pts Lot 1110
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

1986 Penfolds Grange 99pts Lot 1119-1121
A current as well as future legend, this has long been considered by Penfolds' winemaking team as the greatest Grange of the 1980s. And why not? A blend of 87% Shiraz and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, it tips the scales at nearly 14% alcohol. I have been fortunate to have this wine nearly a dozen times, and I have consistently rated it 96-100. It was virtually perfect in June, exhibiting an opaque purple color and a provocative nose of creme de cassis intermixed with smoke, chocolate, licorice, new saddle leather, and pepper. The wine is fleshy, massively concentrated, multi-dimensional with extraordinary power, beautifully integrated acidity, tannin, and alcohol, that seems to only occur in the greatest vintages. Moreover, the wine is still a baby and ideally in need of another 3-5 years of cellaring. This is a Grange to kill for. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2030.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com June 2007 $US600-635
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #e2002 Feb 2002

1998 Penfolds Grange 99pts Lot 1100-1103
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

1995 Chris Ringland (formerly Three Rivers) Shiraz 99pts Lot 1344
Since there are just under 50 cases of this wine for the world, the tasting notes are short as they are primarily of academic interest. One-hundred-year old vines, cropped at one ton of fruit per acre produced a virtually perfect wine of splendid concentration, symmetry, and length (nearly a minute). An opaque black/purple color is followed by staggering aromas of black fruits, truffles, sweet earth, and wood. With amazing viscosity, density, and concentration that transcend any Shiraz I have ever tasted, this monumental wine represents an extraordinary achievement. Its low acidity and phenomenal richness should offer early accessibility, but it promises to evolve for two decades or more. This may be the greatest Shiraz produced in Australia.
P.S. A bottle left open for four days had no traces of fruit loss or oxidation.
Current Release Cost www.erobertparker.com May 2008 $US799
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #127 February 2000

2004 Standish Shiraz / Viognier The Relic 99pts Lot 1303
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

2003 Torbreck Run Rig 99pts 1354
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

July 2008