2005 Howard Park Leston Shiraz Reviews

“Quite bright, minty, blackberry and mint chocolate on the nose, with a particularly peppery, cracked black pepper notes. The palate is fairly taut and lean, with a hint of charcoally minerality before black fruit with racy, edgy plum skin and blueberry qualities coming through. Good freshness here, the layers of chocolate and charry, toasty spices adding some warmth and depth on the finish. Stays juicy and fresh, with ripeness of the fruit persisting.”

91 Points
Tom Cannavan, www.wine-pages.com - 12-09-2008
Full Review

“This elegant red hails from the maritime-influenced area of Margaret River in Western Australia. Dark berry fruit is accented by vibrant acidity and a black peppery kick. Serve alongside grilled lamb.”

Leslie Sbrocco, epicurious.com - 01-06-2008
Full Review

“Margaret River shiraz comes across as bulkier, and less spicy, than Great Southern Shiraz, a difference often highlighted in Howard Park's single vineyard series. There is some rum and raisin flavour here matched to chocolaty, cedary oak, supporting tannins equal to the thickness of the flavour. This is a red to sink your teeth into. Drink 2008 to 2016.”

93 Points
Campbell Mattinson, The Big Red Wine Book - 01-05-2008
Full Review

“Vibrant purple/red colour. The nose is distinctly Australian with some mint, eucalyptus and tarry spiciness, along with sweet red and black fruits. The palate shows lovely freshness, with tight dark fruit and good acidity, along with well integrated oak. A really fresh, juicy style of Shiraz with real precision. I reckon this will age well. It is a classically Australian style, but with more freshness and focus than most. This will be peaking in five years but good for 10 more.”

91 Points
Jamie Goode, wineanorak.com - 09-04-2008
Full Review

“Big and dark smelling, has raisin plus dark chocolate. Subtle spice too. Rich and tangy in the mouth; sort of pomegranate plum flavours and earthy wholemeal oak. Smart this: bread pudding like mouth aromas.”

94 Points
Tim White, The Australian Financial Review - Life & Leisure - 14-03-2008
Full Review

“The 2005 "Leston" Shiraz is medium/dark ruby with a nose of cedar, pepper, meat, saddle leather and blueberry. In the mouth it is supple-textured with ample sweet fruit but is in need of greater depth. The wine is balanced but it is all on the surface. Drink it over the near-term.Howard Park is an excellent source for elegant red and white wines from Western Australia. Even better, they offer an outstanding price/quality ratio.”

88 Points
Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate - 01-11-2007
Full Review

“Howard Park's quartet of single vineyard reds is an eagerly awaited release. There is always a shiraz and a cabernet sauvignon from the company's Leston vineyard in Margaret River and the same from the Scotsdale property in WA's Great Southern region. This has a peppery nose with persistent flavours on the finely structured palate.”

Jeff Collerson, The Daily Telegraph - 15-09-2007
Full Review

“Dark red. Spicy, licorice-accented red berry and cherry aromas display good verve. Juicy and fresh, with vibrant cherry and bitter chocolate flavors complicated by dusty herbs and smoked meat. A bit uncompromising and in need of patience, though, as the wound-up red and dark fruit finishing flavors are framed by solid tannins.”

90 Points
Josh Raynolds, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar - 01-09-2007
Full Review

“Substantial wine. Full of hearty, wholesome, terrifically ripened flavour, the clincher coming in the form of its tannin structure, which sets an excellent frame around which the flavours nestle. Dark plums, dark cherries, chocolate and raisins and cedar, the oak-influence quickly receding as the wine opens out. This is an excellent Margaret River shiraz.Drink: 2008-2016.”

93 Points
Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - 01-07-2007
Full Review

“One of four single estate wines from both Margaret River and Great Southern that have been handled virtually identically to highlight the varietal characters from each region.Under screw cap this opened up slowly, showing rich, brooding dark fruits at first, with intense liquorice, black pepper and spice dominating ... interesting and complex but not very approachable. With time in the glass the fruit developed brighter characters and opened up to show great balance of richness and complexity, and a load of appeal. Texturally and structurally a lovely wine. In the early days of Margaret River reds, one of the best I tasted was a 1979 Leeuwin shiraz which was then grafted to pinot. A bad mistake, especially when wines like this shiraz show just what can be produced from the variety.”

Christopher Hayes, www.eatanddrink.com.au - 01-07-2007
Full Review