'97 Andrew Murray Esperance

[Jorog]

A GSM blend, I tasted this at the winery when it was released.

This still has tons of life left in it. My notes from my first tasting say hold 4-5 years but, upon opening, this was still extremely firm. The fruit seemed muted, unlikely to ever outlive the tanins. I recorked the bottle and left it for two days.

Well, the stuff opened up and has been one of the most enjoyable wines we've had over the last few months. The tanins softened considerably and the fruit, while not overpowering, has gained depth and very nice currant and dark fruit nuances, somewhat bordeaux-like. Still slightly dry on the medium length finish but my wife , who likes her wines very soft, liked it too. A good match for the strip steaks we had.

If you have any of this I recommend sitting on it for another three years. Potentially outstanding.

[This message has been edited by Jorog (edited 10-20-2003).]