The 1997 Shiraz Seven Acres is another big baby that goes on and on in the mouth. Soaring aromas of creme de cassis, smoke, blackberries, new saddle leather, and earth are followed by a layered, multidimensional wine of great purity, richness, and length. At age 12, this seems like a 2- to 3-year-old wine, and while critics might ask “where’s the complexity?”, everything remains intact, and my instincts suggest this, like its siblings, is a 30+ year wine. These wines tend to be drunk entirely too soon, and are often written off before they have ever had a chance to develop fully. (RP)