MP Hunter

I'm generally a fan of Meerea Park in the Hunter.  Great Sems...pretty good Chardonnays..and pretty good Shiraz as well.  The Shiraz tend to be on the bigger end of the Hunter Spectrum..with more oak and riper fruit, but they're well made and they do have some really nice wines...

Meerea Park Hell Hole Shiraz 2003.

Nose is slightly muted when I first open this...stays like that for awhile.  Hint of match stick/sulfur....On the Palate it tastes heavily reduced...Very reduced at this point and awkward on the palate..oak it sticking out...heavy match stick flavors....I wait a bit longer...

1+ hour in, still reduced but some red fruits coming across..oak is less obvious but honestly, I'm not overly enjoying this...

Day 2 - I felt this just needed a lot of air to get rid of some of the reduction...huge difference in the wine...brighter red fruits, good acid...Still a bit heavy on the oak but not too bad...Slight hints of leather, crushed rock and pepper....Good Shiraz...90 points...

I enjoy what I consider the oakier Hunter Shiraz makers (Thomas, Meerea Park, Brokenwood) because they use great overall technique and have great fruit...but I definitely wouldn't mind seeing it toned down slightly....