Print this Wine         1995 Pikes Reserve Shiraz   POLISH HILL RIVER, CLARE VALLEY                 January Release   Shiraz       Neil Pike doesn’t select "Reserve" wines. He lets the wine tell him if it warrants extra special treatment. He tastes and re-tastes various vats as the wine is fermenting, and in the case of the Shiraz only the very finest, most intensely flavored fruit will then be put into a high percentage of new oak and undergo barrel maturation for a greatly extended period. The wine has simply amazing depth of fruit with raspberry, plum and juicy cherries being the most obvious. These flavors are joined by a rich mocha, chocolate and spicy overtone. On top of this is sweet vanilla from the oak. All very intense and rich, almost intoxicating. On the palate the wine appears to be even more powerful than the impression by the bouquet. The fruit and oak components, however seem to be separate, much more so than on the nose. This is merely a sign of the wines immaturity. Certainly there is an abundance of fruit and no shortage of oak. The finish, at present is mouth-puckering with both oak and grape tannins, making the finish dry and slightly bitter. The bitterness balances out nicely against the sweet fruit. In time, however, the tannin will soften and the wine will develop a lovely, mellow and soft finish. Try and be patient with this wine. It has been made with the future in mind, and will benefit with at least another 8 years in the bottle. It will age, without doubt, for considerably longer. If you are too curious and must try the wine now, get some mild flavored but creamy textured cheese, perhaps a white mould style. Here you will find that the flavor of the cheese will not interfere with the fruit in the wine and the creaminess will soften the harsh youthful tannins.

Varietal All Varietals Bordeaux Blends Cabernet Sauvignon Chardonnay Colombard Dessert Wine Grenache Grenache Mourvedre Shiraz Grenache Rose Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre Italian Varietals Marsanne Viognier Merlot Mourvedre Mourvedre Mourvedre Shiraz Grenache Muscadelle Muscat Other Pinot Grigio Pinot Gris Pinot Noir Port Riesling Rose Saignee Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Shiraz Shiraz Grenache Mourvedre Shiraz Mourvedre Grenache Shiraz Petit Sirah Shiraz Viognier Syrah Viognier Estate All Estates Aramis Vineyards Blackbilly Bowen Estate Clonakilla Coates Craiglee Elderton Fireblock Flinders Bay Frankland Estate Grosset Wines Heathcote II Hill of Content Mount Horrocks Primo Estate / Joseph Rocky Gully Rutherglen Estates Sir Paz Estate The Catcher Wines The Jumping Grape Wines The Old Faithful The Wishing Tree Tir na N'og Region All Regions Adelaide Hills Adelaide Plains Auburn Australian Capital Territory Barossa Ranges Barossa Valley Blewitt Springs Bowen Estate Canberra District Cardinia Hills Cardinia Ranges Central Victoria Clare Valley Clarendon Coonawarra Cowra Eden Valley Fleurieu Frankland Geelong Great Western Griffith Heathcote Hilltops Region Hunter Valley Kangarilla King Valley Langhorne Creek Lenswood Lower Hunter Valley Macedon Ranges Margaret River McLaren Vale Mornington Peninsula Mount Carmel Murrenbateman New South Wales Norton Summit Nuriootpa Old Garden Vineyard Padthaway Piccadilly Polish Hill River Riverina Rutherglen Sevenhills South Australia Sunbury Tanunda Upper Beaconsfield Victoria Watervale West Australia Western Australia Woodside Yarra Valley Keyword Include Museum Notes? Yes   No Show me more wines: of this vintage of this varietal by this estate from this region