I have been left with a big question as to what Parker was thinking when he tried the Mitolo The Jester. I think this is a very good wine, especially for $15.99, but 91 pts. seems like a stretch. The packaging is something to discuss for two reasons. 1. The reason it is called The Jester is to commerate a man named Richard Tarlton, who was Queen Elizabeth I favorite jester and was loved by many others, and 2. It has a screw cap. That's right, a screw cap. Now the wine didn't have a funky metallic taste or anything like that, but it did have one thing that bothered me, somewhat monolithic fruit. I was left wondering where the complexity was that made it a 91 point wine. I did have a fat, viscous body, but no depth of character. It was smooth, with a somewhat alcoholic finish, but reminded me of another wine I felt got too high of a Parker rating, Marquis Phillips Sarah's Blend. What is up with Parker and these over inflated score on the <$20 wines?

libraryrat, I guess different strokes for different folks. I had a bottle of The Jester the other night and enjoyed it. I didn't take notes but I liked the big fruit and spice nose/ flavors. I also felt it had a nice finish. I thought it was more of an elegant style of wine rather than a powerhouse--that's OK, too.

I think the screw top is great--no chance of a corked bottle! You'll find a lot of wines from Down Under (especially NZ) are being sealed with screw tops. Perhaps this could be the answer to BV's problems?

It's funny, I took a friend of mine to a tasting where this was poured and he remarked how he thought screw tops were for cheap wines. I explained to him how I encourage screw tops for various reasons and I think he came around to my thinking.

Anyway, about this wine. This was perhaps the most unique Shiraz I have found to date. I found rich red peppery currant fruit and a level of acidity I compare to the best Italian Chianti Riservas. It’s definitely a style I can like! I’ll take two at $16.99. 91/92

Still today, I am really impressed with this wine at this price.

I posted on this wine a few weeks ago on the WS site...
I also thought it was a good wine, but didn't merit the WA score...

http://forums.winespectator.com/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=9306023451&f=3146091161&m=737607

Admittedly, I do not like the big Shiraz bombs. Typically, I gravitate more towards the Shiraz-Cab blends from Australia, this was the first straight up Shiraz wines I've enjoyed. The '01 MPhilips and Paringa didn't do anything for me.

Had this Thursday night with burgers. Delivered the goods and think the WA rating is right there.
Will buy more.

Hello

Last night I had the Mitolo GAM, their high end Shiraz, and it was quite outstanding, opulent and rich but not over the top, very very high class wine.

Watch out for it.

Cracked into this wine last night...

Dark dense purple in color, with a ripe jammy nose of anise, spice, and brambly fruit. Soft, plush, rich, and smooth on the palate, with notable acidity balancing the dense ripe fruit. Not particularly complex, but plenty tasty, sporting soft ripe tannins a pleasant medium finish. 88 points, drink over the next few years.