2011 Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard - early days for this wine, but it was singing to me, louder and louder as it opened in the glass. Sweet peppery red fruit in the nose plus hints of blood/iron, and after it opened a bit of olive tapenade. On palate it wasn't at all rugged as some Cornas can be, it was refined and smooth. Just out of the starting gate as far as development and already it is the best Northern Rhone I have tasted this year.
1995 Hardy's Eileen Hardy Shiraz - you couldn't get further away from the previous wine than this Jimmy Watson Trophy winner took me. Still fairly dark red and the nose showed some ripe almost jammy berry fruit (blackberry?) and it still showed very good length, finishing dry and with a hint of tobacco creeping into the nose. At the end of life (depending on cellar conditions, maybe even past it) but still an interesting and enjoyable wine.
