The finest offering in this portfolio is the 3,300-case cuvee of 2000 Shiraz. The wine is produced from 100% Shiraz, and possesses a sumptuous bouquet of licorice, blackberries, and cassis. It is barrel-fermented in new and old American oak for 12 months prior to bottling. This is a classic, hedonistic Australian fruit bomb loaded with glycerin and texture. Consumers will be buying this one by the case. Drink it over the next 4-5 years.This promising project between winemakers Sarah and Sparky Marquis, and Grateful Palate importer, Dan Philips, already appears to be a brilliant collaboration. This knock-out offering is New World-ish, with exceptionally ripe, concentrated, chewy fruit, a touch of oak (mostly new American), and abundant hedonism, texture, and flesh.Importer: Dan Philips, The Grateful Palate, Oxnard, CA; tel. (888) 472-5283

Ripe, round and harmonious, distinctive for its coffee-tinged berry, cherry and cream flavors. Definitely marked by oak, but has enough fruit lingering on the finish to be seductive for that as well. Drink now through 2007. 2,000 cases made.??–HS??Region: Australia / South Australia Select to Add

Dark, dark, dark purple. Big, rich, jammy and intense, filled with blackberry, blueberry and black cherry preserves and dark chocolate, but dry as dust. That sums up this muscular, heady wine. The tannins are soft, and it’s fun to drink and delicious. ——S.H.(6/1/2002)—— 88