2002 The Factor

My first bottle of this 100 per cent Shiraz was a little cheesy, but the second was much more like it – toasty nose with lovely salty savour and great glossy Shiraz fruit. A sweet start was followed by an ample, spreading palate and then, still, a bit of chew on the finish. It's made from the extremely shy produce of seven ancient vineyards in Ebenezer (with some overlap with Run Rig fruit) put into oak, 30 per cent new, for two years. (JR)

Deep, saturated ruby-violet. Intensely aromatic, even perfumed on the nose, with aromas of kirsch, superripe blackberry, molten chocolate, rose oil and violet. Concentrated, fat and unctuous, showing sweet flavors of raspberry and blackberry confit, smoked bacon, molasses, fruitcake and candied orange peel. Finishes with excellent lift and defining acidity for a wine of such ripeness and power.

Remarkably, the 2002 The Factor may be even more awesome than the 2001. It boasts a blackberry liqueur-like intensity with chocolatey richness intermixed with blackberries, raspberries, and cherries. The unctuous texture, refreshing acidity, and sweet tannin frame-up this magnificent wine. It should drink well for 15+ years. Interestingly, the 2002 The Factor did not have the Cote Rotie-like roasted element found in the 2001, no doubt because 2002 was a much cooler growing year than the record heat experienced in 2001. Importer: Deborah Gray, The Australian Wine Connection, Carlsbad, CA; tel. (760) 438-5714