Shiraz The Armagh 2002 Jim Barry

Professional reviews

Robert Parker (98)

While we’re waiting for the next release of The Amargh, Peter Barry presented me with a couple of older vintages for consumers to see how they’re developing. The 2002 The Amargh Shiraz was sampled from a bottle under cork and from a bottle under screwcap. Though I’m a proponent for neither closure, the screwcap bottle was fresher, fruitier and demonstrated a slightly superior texture of tighter, finer grained tannins. However my note and score are for the bottle under cork, which is probably the bottle in most cellars. Very deep garnet-black in color, it displays a lovely choco-mint and mincemeat nose with hints of smoky bacon, coffee, tobacco and cumin seed. The rich, full-bodied flesh is well supported by very crisp acid and a medium-high level of very silky tannins. The finish is very long lending lingering notes of mint, coffee and baking spices. It’s drinking beautifully now and should continue to cellar until 2020+.