So my brother was coming to dinner, and I was serving roast leg of lamb, fried potatoes with onions, and a gravy laced with riesling and mint. Probably only needed one bottle and I'd already decided on the Beaucastel, but from the cellar I also brought a Tourain white and an old Aussie (I never seem to have other opps to open Aussie shirazes). The latter was a one-off in my collection from an unknown-to-me producer and likely to be a dud, so the thinking goes "let's open it and get rid of it".
The white, a Germain 2021, was screechy--all acid, no fruit, not at all ready to drink, so I set it aside for another day and opened the Shiraz which turned out to be a major surprise.
1998 Ralph Fowler Shiraz Limestone Coast
Not at all your typical Aussie. From older, low-yielding vines in the Coonawarra, it's opaque maroon-black in color and loaded with sweet, complex plum and black currant notes, incense, forest, licorice and French oak spice. Dense but not heavy, it's layered, classy and immensely appealing--a wine still in evolution even at 28 years of age. Very, VERY impressive showing; in fact I wish I had more of these. Chris and I drained the entire bottle before dinner.
2006 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend
Decanted two hours in advance, no sediment. Garnet color with red fruit, herbs, leather, beef jerky, pan-seared mushrooms, and iron. Very aromatic with better body than expected based on some CT notes. Excellent secondary development but not yet tertiary. A delight in every way, but the Ralph Fowler kinda stole all the thunder.