d'Arenberg Coppermine Road Cab Sauv 2004 (McLaren Vale)

A little bit of a disappointment this one.
I'd opened it about 2 hours before dinner, so that we could take it in to Giardenetto's in the valley for our 6th anniversary.
Thought it might be a little bit special, but it didn't ring any bells for me.
Once it had opened up, it had a quite strong stewed fruit taste that whilst not unpleasant, was not what I had expected. There was a lot of earth to it and it did have an almost creamy finish, but the big fruity mouthfeel kinda left me wanting something else.

In fact it was later that I finished the Norman's basket pressed shiraz and it completely blew this away.
Granted that I do prefer shiraz and especially from the McLaren Vale region... but the Norman's had that 'it' factor.

I do have a few bottle of the Dead Arm Shiraz laying in wait, so I'm hoping that they redeem the good name of D'Arenberg.
At least in my untrained eyes.

Price: not sure, was a gift
Rating: 83 (sorry, but I wouldn't buy this again)

Normans Basket Pressed Shiraz Bin C163 2008 (Greenock Barossa Valley)

This wine was once again outstanding. Especially the second day... It has a flavour all of it's own and I find it to be 'intoxicating' :)
I only have one bottle left of this, so it's going into storage. If there are any more out there, please let me know, but at $10 a bottle I'm going to assume that it's all gone.

Bugger.

PS. Did a bit of searching and Normans Wines have this, unfortunately it's $22.95 a bottle.
I am still tempted though as it's worth every cent. (all 2295 of them)

Price: $10 Get Wines Direct (if you were lucky)
Rating: 95