1994 Best's Great Western Thomson Family Shiraz (1500ml)

In 1866, in the Grampians district of Victoria, Henry Best was clearing and grubbing his small selection, along the Concongella Creek, and exposing and tilling for the first time in history the powdery, sandy loam which overlaid a deep clay sub soil, and in 1867, 1868 and 1869 he planted shiraz - of which only 15 rows remain. At the same time in Europe Alfred Noble patented dynamite, the first trans Atlantic cable was being laid and Siemens introduced the dynamo for generating electricity, Dostoyevsky in Russia published 'Crime and Punishment'and Karl Marx was writing Das Kapital.By the time Henry Best produced his first vintage, Guiseppe Verdi had completed the opera Aida, the Suez Canal was opened and a record was set by the sailing ship Thermopylae - reaching Port Melbourne from England in a record 61 days 11 hours. A little later the four cylinder internal combustion engine was to be invented and Pasteur had discovered 'germs'.Henry Best is toiling - his June 29,1868 diary entry reads "The beginning of Concongella Vineyard 1866" and his work sheet of 1868 reads "Self, Planting vines Hermitage 3. Cheeney Planting vines, John, Planting vines, Weather fine, frost."Historians call the era the Age of Progress and what progress, 129 years later we can reflect on that progress. The 15 surviving rows of history are of breath taking beauty. Production is limited to 350 cases nationally, a part of Australia's history available to only a handful of enthusiasts. What an exhilarating experience, drinking the wine from Henry Best's original planting and re capping on one of the most progressive times in history. A philosophers wine!The Thomson Shiraz is only released in great years - even old vines can suffer from adverse climatic conditions. There was no 1993 Thomson Shiraz. Old vines produce very low yields of tiny berries, which in turn produce dense concentrated wine. IF YOU WERE IMPRESSED BY THE 1994 BEST'S GREAT WESTERN BIN 0 SHIRAZ,THEN THE 1994 BEST'S THOMSON SHIRAZ WILL ASTOUND YOU.EXTRAORDINARY! PRE PHYLLOXERA VINES - AN INTERNATIONAL TREASURE!Tasting notes: The colour is dense crimson. The nose is not about to yield its array of aromas in a youthful rush. You have to wait a while and quietly the aromas emerge. Ripe plums, blackberry, confectionary with subtle notes of cedar and liquorice - black pepper aromas are absent. The palate slowly rolls out its flavours building up to an unexpected crescendo of totally encompassing black pepper. Plum, liquorice all sorts, confectionary and spice all form forward palate flavours, but the blackpeppers sneak up in a similar way in that mountain pepper berries sneak up on the palate. The harmony is perfect - the tannins are silky smooth, the aftertaste lingering long in the palate like a repetitive chord from Vivaldi - it just stays and stays. This is a sublime shiraz - Unique, an experience not to be forgone. It is the living expression of an age that drove the 20th century and gave it its momentum. Only 350 cases were produced - We need say no more!