2006 Amon-Ra Shiraz Barossa Valley

By Haas12597140, February 26, 2008
I opened the Amon-Ra for decanting before leaving my house in the morning, at about 7 AM. At that point, my impressions were of a wine that was a deep, brick-red, almost opaque. On the nose, a rush of blackcurrant and rich berries. The nose intensity is overwhelming; I poured less than half an ounce into a glass when decanting the wine, and it almost knocked me over taking a short sniff from over the rim of the glass; I didn't even try to put my nose into the bowl. On the palate, the wine is indeed overwhelming in flavor -- it's arguably the most intensely flavored wine I've ever tried. The flavor intensity really does match that of the nose. Flavor notes include distinct cedar and oak notes, an overarching flavor of dark chocolate, red fruit, coconut, spice, and espresso. There are a surprisingly high amount of tannins in the wine, giving it a velvety feel. There's a richness to the flavor that's hard to put into words; it's mouth-coating, intense (even in a 1/2 oz tasting pour). The balance is perfect -- not too acidic, just a hint of residual sugar (at 14.5% alcohol, there's not much room for leftover sugar!). The finish just keeps going; I still tasted the wine several minutes later. After decanting for about 14 hours (opened at 7 AM, consumed at 9 PM), the wine had mellowed a bit, but retained it's power. It had smoothed out, feeling just a touch less tannic, but still maintained it's velvety feel and punch. I'm very impressed with this wine, and would gladly taste it again; I'm looking forward to trying a bottle in about 10 years, after it's bottle-aged.