Tasted from 375 Saturday night. Dark purple in color, with aromas jumping out of the glass. Nose of blueberry, fresh mint, dark fruit and what I thought was a smoky-bacony note. The palate was big, with good fruit and somewhat sweet tannin.

The wine opened more with an hour in the decanter, just becoming bigger and fuller in both the nose and mouth, but not changing much in the way of tastes and aromas. It was certainly more enjoyable now than I thought it would be. 93 points.

can you compare it to the 01?

Unfortunately I cannot. The only other vintage I have had was the '98 at a tasting a couple of years back.

From what I recall of the '98, IMO, this seems to be a different animal in that I think it will offer more pleasurable drinking at an earlier age than the '98.

This is going to be released in Ontario this September... the price will likely be (ballpark) $50 Canadian ($37 US).

If I can ask, would you consider it worth it to pick up a bottle for dinner around Christmas?

Thanks!

SJUVino:

It will be released on Sept. 18th at a price of $49.99 a bottle. If you don't line up on release day for this wine, I highly doubt you'll get any. You need to make your decision ahead of time!

As with all Dead Arm, if you plan on drinking it so soon, it will need a heck of a lot of time in a decanter, or better yet - years and years in the cellar.

My guesss is that 5 years, or 36 hours in the decanter, is about right!

SJU,

I paid $58 (US) for the 750s and $31 for the 375. At that price I would definitely pick some up.

Will it be enjoyable around Christmas? Personally, I think it certainly will be, and I would give it at least 3-4 hours in the decanter.

I don't have enough experience with aging curves to know how quickly a wine might shut down, but, there was a post on the Squires board where someone had spoken to Chester Osborn regarding the aging curve of this wine. The post is by "Greg K" and is near the bottom of the thread, and can be foundhere.

Happy hunting.

Futronic,

Sept 18th? In the August catalogue it said it was in the pipeline for Sept. 4th...

I guess I'll have to call up the store and see if they're even getting any of it over here. I'll line up, I have nothing better to do on Saturday morning.

Government monopolies on liquor stores are great.

my guess, is if you need to drinki some young dead arm, drink the 02 while the 01 is resting.

SJU,

Yes, it'll be released on the 18th. There are 1200 6-packs for the province, so hopefully you'll be able to get some.

Just had this last weekend. I thought it was okay, but off the '98, which remains the benchmark for me. Not as concentrated as the '98 or '01 and it didn't have any real recognizable Shiraz leather/rubber notes. My palate migfht be off a bit lately, since so many wines are tasting exactly the same to me, but this just didn't seem great in any way. Score: 89

Over here at casa de Wine Nightly, I had this tonight out of 375 and enjoyed it immensley. I started drinking it with marinated steak and vegetables and finished it on its own. Very nice on both counts.

Great intensity and concentration, excellent midpalate, a finish over 30 seconds and no harsh tannin or any noticeable heat. It's harmonious. This is the first DA I've had, so I can't put it in comparison to any other vintages. I would suggest drinking it now before it shuts down (per the Chester Osborne thread). Perhaps old Chester is trying to make it more approachable out of the chute so you don't have to wait ten years?

95+ WN points

WN

To add a little more info, I tapped this one based on the mixed reviews I've read on this wine. I was getting a little concerned whether I should have bought a case or not. I read somewhere that the winemaker, Chester Osborne, thinks that it'll drink well over the summer and then close up.

Bottom line: I'm glad I have a case in the cellar.

To compare it to other good shiraz's I've had this summer, I rate it a little higher than the 01 Kays Hillside and the 02 Kaesler Bogan. Both of those I enjoyed very much. It's a step or two back from the 02 Shirvington.

I've picked up one or two of the 98, 99, 00 and 01 DA's this year. I'm guessing I should hold on to all of them, but I sure would like to open one in the next month or two. Can anybody speak first hand about drinking any of these other vintages recently? I'm getting impatient about waiting until their peak in 8-10 years.

WN

WN... If you do NEED to open one, I would suggest decanting for a long time - like 10-12 hours.
The last Dead Arm I had was a 99. It was significantly better after 2 days than it was when we opened it!

After a bunch of negative reports on the latest release of(2002) Dead Arm , I decided to sacrifice a bottle to see for myself what all the fuss was about. I opened the bottle not knowing what I would find, or if I would love it, or hate it, and for the record, I have loved some vintages and hated others.

To do the wine complete justice, I have tried it over a period of the best part of day and have made notes as I went.

First impression upon opening was a bouquet dominated by loads of dusty oak, mushroom, blackberries and a fairly prominent herbaceous undertone. The first sip indicates this wine is a veritable baby and I was committing the worst possible case of vininfanticide. All the components are there but they are not harmonious, to the contrary, the wine is disjointed and jarring. However, when examined closely they are all there in the right proportions and on the plus side, the finish is persistent.

Ninety minutes later coffee essence and an unusual scent that I had trouble positively identifying were the major factors. The unidentified scent seemed like it was “green oak.” On the palate, it was not as jarring as the first sip; it was OK but still very much a baby. Fine-rained dusty tannins, and ripe fruit provide coffee, chocolate, plum and blackberry flavours but there was an herbaceous streak with mint and menthol running through the palate.

After three hours , this wine is really starting to change. On the palate, the fruit is rich and intense with many of the previously mentioned flavours still in play but now there is a real spiciness to it too.

After six hours , the bouquet is dominated by floral violet notes, menthol and spice; it’s very attractive and totally unlike the monster that reared its ugly head six hours ago. Tannins are very fine and grip the tongue like a vice, the acid is baby fresh and the fruit is up to the task but now, all the disjointed impression that was evident when first opened has disappeared and the components are more harmonious and in balance. Finish is very long. Spice, coffee essence, multiple berry flavours, plum and chocolate surfing the tasting buds on a (now much tamer and less aggressive, almost Cabernet like) herbaceous under bed with mint and menthol.

After eight hours , now this wine is really singing. The herbaceous streak has receded even further, almost disappearing and it is dominated by chocolate, coffee, spice and glorious rich plumy fruit that is full bodied and finishes with great intensity and persistence.

In summary, if those you canned the wine did so from a bottle that was freshly opened, I can understand why. By the same token, those that judged the wine alongside others in a big line up will also have been justifiably disappointed, especially without significant decant time because it would not show very well at this stage against other wines, which no doubt, would be more attractive and easier to drink in their youth. However, I am very happy I bought this wine and in time, think it will be wonderful. Current rating isExcellent *** for value with room for improvement as the wine matures around the turn of the decade.

Wow. Thanks, Torb! Your review makes me want to go buy another three - six pack and sit on it for 6-8 years.

Great notes Torb. Thanks!!

The '02 is getting some mixed reviews over here......I haven't tried the finished product as yet...but had it from the barrel in May....it had a pronounced salami-type of character and a touch of V.A......the salami stuff blew off in the glass and it was a very good wine.....

Cheers

Dave

All right, I bought it... thus severly limiting my budget for the next month.

I'm pretty sure being in University and enjoying premium wine isn't the best combination.

SJU,

No, it's not. That's why I was working two jobs at one point. Need to feed the habit somehow. I'm glad those days are over.