The fruit seems to be mostly Grenache on the nose: raspberry jam, red plum, just a bit of shiraz dark cherry and blackberry. There are some beautiful, fresh aromas of violet and eucalyptus, along with cocoa, cedar, vanilla, anise, wood smoke, black olive, and a bit of black pepper. The shiraz asserts itself on the palate as blackberry, dark cherry, blueberry, black pepper, and leather, along with some menthol. Velvety grenache texture, medium tannins, slightly higher acidity. Long finish, with blueberry, dark cherry, and cocoa.

I get that fruit explosion, and the pepper on the finish. But it is not quite smooth enough to rate a ninety. Unless it is paired with Lindt 90% dark chocolate! Seriously, that really smooths it out. Do that and it is worth a 91.