This is not my usual fare, but I'm not one to say no if offered a glass. First up was a Henschke Keyneton Estate "Euphonium" 2001 from the Barossa (Eden Valley?). This was actually pretty decent! It seemed quite aged already (or is this not of their wines meant to age so long?): alongside the dark and sweet fruit it had plenty of tar and vegetal aromas and that lovely, slightly oxidative edge that e.g. old style Rioja has. By my second glass a touch of mint became noticeable (this was IIRC 70% Syrah and 30% Bordeaux-grapes) Still vibrant and fleshy palate, very full bodied but that is countered by healthy acidity and still noticeable tannins. Tarry and even malty finish. A bit of a brute still despite all the aged aromatics. Not a wine I would buy, but at this stage of development, one that I am happy to have a couple glasses of.
If the "aged" Henschke was a bit of a brute, the Kalleske Greenock Shiraz 2006 was brutish to such an extent that my vocabulary fails me. 15,5% abv should be very noticeable, but this is so full of everything else that it isn't. The first thing that strikes me is a massive dose of caramelly wood aromas; the second thing that strikes me is how the massive, liqurous fruit emphasizes the sweeeeeeeet sensations of the whole. Where the Henschke was very full bodied, this has the density of a neutron star and after drinking a couple sips the escape velocity required to escape from the gravitational pull of my chair was about a third of the speed of light. But it is organic so it must be good.