2001 Delheim Vera Cruz Estate Stellenbosch Shiraz

I think that I bought this one last Christmas time in Wyoming of all places. It was wrapped in a very attractive tissue paper thus assuring that I wouldn’t feel bad paying for it.

Appearance – very dark purple, I figure that there is no way that a wine that looks like this can be anything but outstanding.

Nose – intensely sweet blackberry, a ton of smoke and a little black pepper.

In the mouth – a lot of oak, probably American oak, but not as intense as most wines stored in American oak. This wine probably needs another 5 to 10 years on the shelf, but looking at the cork, I’m not sure it would last that long. The stains on the cork were between 1/3 and 1/2 the length. It might make it another 5 years. I’m not sure that I want to push it that long though.

Anyway, the flavors include tobacco, blackberry, cigar box, dark chocolate and a little black pepper.

The finish is nice and smooth but not as powerful as I had hoped. Don’t get me wrong on that last comment; it does not wimp out on the finish.

I think I paid $40 for this one. If you can get it for $35 or less, it is a bargain. If it costs $45 or more, skip it.

One thought on “2001 Delheim Vera Cruz Estate Stellenbosch Shiraz

  1. I just opened my second bottle and it is fabulous. There are no worries about the cork on this one. It looks as though it was bottled last week. My comments about cellaring for another five years are correct. I think it could age nicely for ten years. But if you open it now, let it come to room temperature and swirl it around a bit to help it open up. Very enjoyable.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *