Marquis Philips: Vintage Wines Ltd $5 Tastings 2005

Marquis Philips

Tasting described as The 2004 Marquis Philips wines are out and they should be as good as ever! Come try all four wines and the 2003-Shiraz No.9 Saturday, August 27, 11-3PM.

The wines in this weekly tasting are usually all under $15pb. I tasted the wines double blind. That is I did not know what wines were in the tasting or their order. I’ve listed the wines in order they were tasted.

2004 Merlot (Screwcap) $11.99USD
Light cherry red with slight brownish tinge to the edge. Ripe with vanilla and cherry. Full bodied with soft and supple entry, super-soft tannins and nice length to the finish. A little hot from the alcohol. 2, 2, 3.8, 9.7 =17.5/20, 87/100. 14.5% alcohol

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon (Screwcap) $11.99USD
Dense cherry red with red edge. Ripe and spicey with mint and cedar. Full bodied with soft tannins and good length to the finish. Flavors do not carry well onto the palate. 2, 2, 4.1, 9.8 = 17.9/20, 89/100. 14.5% alcohol

2004 Sarah’s Blend (Screwcap) $11.99USD
Dense cherry red with red edge. A little closed, giving up blueberry and smoky oak. Full bodied and well balanced with a core of firm astringency. 2, 2, 3.9, 10.0 = 17.9/20, 89/100. 15.0% alcohol

2004 Shiraz (Screwcap) $11.99USD
Dense cherry red with red edge. Ripe and jammy with dusty oak and faint vanilla. Full bodied with soft tannins. Some heat from the alcohol on the less than stellar finish. 2, 2, 3.8, 9.8 = 17.6/20, 88/100. 15.5% alcohol

2003 Shiraz 9 $35.99USD
Dense cherry red with red edge. Rich and ripe with pepper, smoky oak, blueberry and a little nail polish remover (ethyl acetate EA). Full bodied with soft tannins and flavors that carry very well onto the palate and linger on the finish. There is a little heat from the alcohol but it’s not unpleasant. 2, 2, 4.2, 9.9 = 18.1/20, 90/100. 16.0% alcohol

An interesting tasting. The Merlot, Shiraz and Shiraz 9 were easily recognized. The Cabernet was also easily identified as having Cabernet but I thought it might be the Roogle Red, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz , rather than a straight Cabernet.

The Shiraz 9 showed better in this setting than when I tasted it previously on its own. At that time there was a charred character to the palate that was not pleasant. That character was not evident in this tasting. Still its questionable value and so we purchased a few bottles of the Cabernet.