It’s not often one gets the chance to taste aged wine. Cellaring takes a combination of thoughtfulness, planning, patience and self-control, qualities that escape most of us, most of the time. So it was a real priviledge to be invited to dinner last night and to drink the 1998 Penfolds Bin 389, and St. Hallet Old Block Shiraz, 1999. These are serious Australian wines, retailing in current vintages between at $37.99 (389) and $44.20 (Old Block) in Saskatchewan.
The Penfolds Bin 389 is a Caberbet/Shiraz blend, and built to last for years. The 1998 vintage is renowned as a powerful but polished wine. It didn’t disappoint! What I noticed straight away was its colour (still dark and brooding in the centre, just fading to a lighter red in the edges of the glass), and the density of its fruits (blackberry, plums, even a hint of liquorice) and still seemingly youthful tannins. This beauty could still cellar for another 10 years at least. The most memorable thing is how the wine’s firm structure and dusty tannins (which filled the bottom of the bottle) carried the fruits, oak and spice through a lingering finish. My only regret is that we didn’t decant these wines for a few hours before opening them. But hey, beggars can’t be choosers! I have a sense that a more complete integration and harmony of the fruits and tannins would have come with an airing prior to drinking.
If the Bin 389 still has some productive cellaring time left, the St Hallett Old Block Shiraz 1999 is drinking perfectly now. Wow. I honestly can’t remember drinking such a beautifully balanced Shiraz before. It has the typically over-generous, full bodied fruit of the Barossa Valley, but it just seems so balanced, so seamless. On the nose there’s deep raspberry, smokey and milk chocolate aromas. At this pointy I just curled up into the couch with my glass. A wonderfully rich, full bodied, velevety feel in the mouth, with waves of spicy vanilla and liquorice languidly flowing into a gently firm and lengthy finish. The fruit, chocolate and spice fade gently away, echoing their seductive aromas one final time. A terrifically satisfying Shiraz. 
These wines are inspiring me to practice the virtues of patience and forethought. Wine cellared, aged and celebrated many years later with friends really reveals the best of a wine, and, I would have thought, those of us lucky enough to share it.
Hey David; Great idea, and wonderful comments/layout.
Time to start looking at the wonderful wines of the Okanagan and I begin by suggesting a great choice from the Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year: Wild Goose (www.wildgoosewinery.com)
You cannot go wrong with Autumn Gold. As the bottle notes say it is “one of Canada’s oldest and most awarded premium white vinifera blends.” The 2008 vintage won the Silver Medal at the 2009 Okanagan Fall Wine Festival but the cost, taste and consistency make it “Gold” in my mind. Some people turn their noses up at blends but this has been a consistent performer. There are other treats from Wild Goose but that should do for a start!
Thanks Randy, and nice to hear from you. We fondly recall our trip to the Okanagan. I’ll look into Wild Goose. Not sure we get it in Saskatchewan, but I’ll check it out.