2005 Glaetzer Amon-Ra Shiraz - Barossa Valley, Australia
Decanted 4.5 hr’s. Thick and powerful nose of blueberry and blackberry with light tar notes and eucalyptus. A tremendous wine with rich and lusty blueberry and cassis flavors that are well balanced and accented with light minerals and faint black pepper. Broadens nicely on the mid-palate with chocolate notes and a touch of eucalyptus increasing towards the finish. Has good acidity along with supple, silky, and mouth coating tannins and a lengthy, blockbuster finish. S98 1/7/2007

Decanted for 2.5 hours and consumed over two nights. Expressive nose of vanilla, blueberry, blackberry, and oak all nicely meshed with some mint in the background. The purity of fruit in this wine is amazing. Full body and very intense. Rich blueberry and blackberry at first followed by chocolate and subtle vanilla oak. The finish is silky long with more pure blackberries, black licorice, and cherries. I hope to cellar my remaining bottles, but the wine is so good right now. 94pts.

Thanks for the notes. I have a bottle of this, just waiting on the right time to pop it

As posted on ebob:

I decanted for 4.5 hours, consumed over dinner and with the oscars (2 hours). Left one glass for another 24 hours for a final take. Here's my impression:

A voluptuous nose. Absolutely breathtaking. Covering presence of tar, with soft and shy notes of eucalyptus and buried fruit. The nose intoxicated my nostrils until I got a headache! The wine contacts the palette with silky eucalyptus and cassis but quickly stiffens into the mid-palette. The direction of the wine was shocking to me, absolutely resolved...The tannic backbone really gets you towards the finish and the heat/acidity is definitely overiding the hidden blackfruits and secondary cassis profiles that were nuanced on the front. The glass that I have consumed 24 hours later has relinquished much of that heat and the fruit is more explosive than ever...The seething tinge of acidity finishes potently, more potently than many drinkers would choose to relish. I don't have much experience with tasting the same wines over long periods of time (hey I'm only 21) so I can't give a drinking window, but rudimentary I will say it needs years

95+ with a potential, if the acidity and heat integrates and the fruit comes to the table more inclusively, that this wine could yeild that 98 that Parker alluded to.