2003 Stella's Garden Lost Highway Shiraz

So, I was in Vegas at this restaurant. The first thing I noticed is their wine markup is about 4x the normal price of a bottle. Which is ridiculous. But I did not follow my own advice and bring my own bottle, so I was stuck. Luckily we were splitting the tab 8 ways.

The second thing I noticed was they had the 2000 Stella's Garden Lost Highway Shiraz on the menu. The 2004 was stupendous, so I figured lets have a go at one with some age on it. Of course, they brought me a 2003. Another thing I hate is restaurants who do not update their frickin' wine list. But, still, I will take a 2003. So they open it and decant it and add $136 to the bill. Bastards.



Anyway, the wine was very good. It was not that dark, midnight-satin, inky color the 2004 was. It was still a nice, full bodied Shiraz, but much less remarkable than the 2004. The '03 had nice color and was pretty smooth for a 15% wine. Everyone at the table, even non-drinkers and non-wine drinkers all liked the bottle. There was good dark fruit and just a hint of spice.