My first Glaetzer wine was the 04 Amon-Ra on release, and I thouroughly enjoyed it. Since then, I've always had a soft spot for them, but over the past couple of years haven't drank much of their wine. I think i've bought a bottle of each release of Amon-Ra and Godolphin (Annaperena from '06 vintage), and there was a vintage of bishop (either '04 or '05) that I really enjoyed, and bought quite a few bottles of.I was dissapointed however by the '06 vintage Bishop - bought 1 bottle of it, didn't enjoy it, and it dropped off my radar. I also decreased my consumption of Barossa Shiraz in general over the past 2 years. I put that down to changing tastes, and advancing age, as I have been drinking more elegant wines - Victorian pinot, Margaret River cabernet and chardonnay, champagne. Whilst these wines aren't always 'elegant', they are not in the bruising mould of weighty Barossa shiraz.
But on drinking the '07 Bishop, the nostalgia flows back. A brooding, tannic, meaty wine, ripe - but not over-ripe.
And now I'm fan once more of Barossa Shiraz, to an extent that I hadn't been since the '04 vintage. Back then I was drinking a lot of Grant Burge Filsell, St Hallett Blackwell, Gibson, and pretty much any Barossa Shiraz of similar vein that I could lay my hands on. It seems that the Bishop is one of the first '07 Barossa wines released, and I'm not sure of the quality of the vintage in general. I know that it was a bad year for winemakers, with low yields, but that may add to concentration. The '07 St Hallett Blackwell is in stores too, so i'll have to try that and see how it goes (the '06 was great also). I've seen some positive reviews of both wines already.
Score: Probably 93/100, but 95 for present enjoyment. Will have to recalibrate my palate.
Why you want this wine: Because you want to drink it with a large barbequed steak for breakfast, it's that good.
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