The reviewers who tasted this wine were in agreement about one thing: This is an unusual wine (and yes, '97 is the current vintage). Bright gold color is only the first hint of the malo that this wine has seen, and an uber-butterscotchy nose is the second hint. One reviewer describes the palate flavor as that of peach pit, and the other marvels that the wine can have this kind of weight without a lot of flavor. Yarra Burn says that the Bastard Hill Chard is made only in exceptional vintages, and has 10-15 years ahead of it; we would like to think that some time in the cellar would make it a little more comprehensible.——W.E.(6/1/2003)—— 86