Another wine from the Bonhams & Butterfields Pre-Auction tasting that I was very much looking forward to, this one did not disappoint.

Very dark purple without a hint of bricking. Amazing youthful nose of sweet, pure, dark fruits - sweet dark cherries, bramble, and spice. Huge muscle and structure on the palate, firm but ripe tannins, but beautifully balanced with layers of complex fruit and a tremendous long finish. 95 points, drink 2006-2015

Excellent news. I bought one of these in the wine liquidation sale for a good price.

Nice move Winetex. Give it some years, you won't be sorry.

Alas, my concern about the provenence of the bottle may have been justified. Although it wasn't bad it certainly was not the wine Eric described.

Notes from the tasting

I wanted to try aged Grange so I placed this one in the group. Everyone picked this one out as an aged wine but no one guessed Grange. It was very smoky and had a great deal of cedar on the finish. The fruit had receded into the background. Clearly it was very high quality and changed dramatically from the time I opened it until it was poured. Bressler noted to check for some interesting aromas on opening that subsequently blew off. I was concerned with the provenance on this bottle and it seemed more aged than the reviews indicated. I have no way to judge this without trying more aged Grange.

Shiraz Mania TNs