2004 Mitolo Shiraz “G.A.M.”. McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia. 15% alcohol. $50.
Quite dark with moderately pigmented legs. Deeply concentrated plum, some chocolate, toasted bread, and mineral nuances. Syrupy and plush in the mouth with long, smooth, and lasting tannin coupled with excellent acidity. Formidable length with gushing fruit churning through to the end. The wine is brought up in 70% new French oak (Alliers and Nevers) for 18 months with the remaining 30% doing time in older American oak. An extremely impressive wine that is a considerable step up over the 2003. Drink now (2013) to 2018. 94 points.

Neither of those options are what it means. "[N]ow" plus a parenthetical date means that the wine is pleasureable to drink now but will mature on the date indicated in the parentheses.

OK, thanks. I haven't seen it written that way before.

Thanks for the notes. I love this wine - especially for the mid-$40's price. How long did you decant? I’ve been decanting for 3-4 hours which can have a real positive impact on this wine. But it seems to be one of those polarizing wines. Tasting note here.

I'm not a big proponent of lengthy decanting times. Serving temperature is much more important to me. I don't remember exactly but this wine was likely unscrewed, decanted, and then enjoyed/analyzed over a three hour period.