Last night we were hunting for a red which would not neccessarily require any breathing time before drinking at a restaraunt. The staff at our local bottle shop suggested the Chapel Hill Shiraz 2002 since it has already spent a few years in the bottle.
Mere seconds after opening, this wine exhibited open dark fruit aromas and full bodied flavours of plum, dark berries and spices that lead into a slightly earthy finish with fine, velvety tannins. Very easy drinking and a nice match for Osso Buco.
This review marks the stage that I embrace the dark side of the force and begin scoring wines on a 100 point scale. This has become somewhat of a defacto standard scale of the wine media, so hopefully my scores will have more meaning for most readers.
Score: 88/100
Price: $19
Closure: Cork
Alcohol: 13.5%
Other Opinions: Chapel Hill, Wine Amateur
Would I buy this wine again?
If I saw a bottle for $15 or less, yes.

Murray - Your first score out of 100!
Comment by edward — September 1, 2006 @ 5:27 am
The Force serves you well young master…
Why are you asking the staff at your local!!!! You would know 10x as much as them…failing that just SMS me…. :)
GW
Comment by gw — September 1, 2006 @ 11:10 am
There are two guys at Dan Murphy’s Menai who actually know their stuff, at the very least they have tried more of their own range than I have.
Comment by Murray — September 1, 2006 @ 10:11 pm
Murray
Welcome to the netherworld of 100 point scoring. I agree with you on this wine. Pleasant drinking but would need to be less than $15 for me to buy it again.
Comment by MalB — September 4, 2006 @ 3:04 am
Great website Murray, I think your “would i buy this wine again” sums up any score you need to give a wine. Keep up the tastings!!
Comment by Simmo — September 4, 2006 @ 5:41 pm
Thanks Simmo, I would like to think that the score is an indicator of quality, and the final comment an indicator of the all important “value”, perceived or otherwise.
Comment by Murray — September 4, 2006 @ 11:13 pm
No updates in nearly 2 weeks…..
GW
Comment by gw — September 10, 2006 @ 7:08 am
A few tasting notes have been taken on paper, I will be getting to it over the next couple of days.
Comment by Murray — September 10, 2006 @ 8:05 am